On Sapphire Wings
by Kikaiyu
Summary: LloydWink - Slowly, people are being ruthlessly slaughtered by an enemy who attacks completely randomly, an attacker with no past and no motive... [Chapter 15 uploaded! Kianako tries to run, but forgets the long reaches of desperation]
1. Searching for you

_On Sapphire Wings_

_Chapter 1_

_Disclaimer: Characters, events, settings or anything else I use of LoD belong to Sony. If/when I use original characters, they belong to me. _

_"Forgotten thoughts of yesterdays._

_Through my eyes I see the past._

_I don't know why._

_I believe. I believe in the truth._

_From inside._

_Go away, go away from me._

_Leave me alone._

_Ignorance spreads lies. _

_How much will money buy?_

_Well I'll take my time._

_As I drift and die._

_Unwanted, I live my life of shame._

_Who's to blame for my mistakes?_

_Well I don't know, I don't know why."_

_Puddle of Mudd – "Drift and Die"_

**

Dark clouds blotted out the sky above, and it seemed that the only thing visible was famine. Famine and blood. Perhaps that was all the Moon was – a huge ivory manifestation of all the worlds' pain and blood.

Amongst the wreckage and ethereal agony, a body lay unmoving, staring up at a sky that would have gave no pity even if he could see anymore. The figure's black leather vest, engraved with silver, was splattered with drying blood, and his silver locks of hair had taken a brownish tinge in the pool of scarlet liquid as he lay there, not sure whether he was alive or not except for the sharp, unbearable pain in his slender torso. He closed his blind, pupiless red eyes and sighed, then coughed painfully, tasting salty blood. 

So this was what it felt like to be halfway to nowhere and not moving fast?

If not for his incredible endurance, he would have died instantly, but perhaps that was a mixed blessing in itself. He knew it was inevitable, so he waited, lost in the thoughts he knew were his last. 

Well, what more had he expected? He'd tried and failed to get rid of the God of Destruction, but he'd managed to aid the Others. That's what he'd taken flight to the Moon for in the first place, to aid all that he'd so badly hurt.

He tried to block of the lingering guilt, wishing that it would all end a little faster.

Did he have anything left anymore anyways? Everything he'd ever had was taken away now, and for what? He'd unwittingly supported the destruction of the planet he wanted to reunite with itself. Great.

His family, his love, his whole existence had been sacrificed for it, so why was he taking so long to die?

He coughed again, like fire shooting through his throat, and tried to block the thoughts from his mind. There was no good dwelling on it. Desperately, he tried to think of something consoling as the steady jolts of pain surged through his body. 

_Wink._

He bit his lip, wondering if she was recovering okay. She had a bad habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that last time had costed her. He wished he could have protected her a little better. 

With a small clink, something fell from a pouch around his waist, and he closed his cold hand around it automatically. Healing potion.

If he drank that, maybe he could postpone the inevitable a little. His quick mind turned over the fact slowly. 

Maybe he would have time to return home if he drank that…

Then he could see her again, one last time. Just to apologize, and make sure she was okay?

The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. He owed her at least an apology for all he'd done to her. 

Without realizing it, Lloyd had stood shakily to his feet. He fumbled around for the bottle, uncorked it, and drank it slowly so he wouldn't choke. The liquid was soothing against the ongoing pain in his chest; with a bit of pain he could fly again, if he was cautious. 

Twin long, sinuous wings burst out from his back with a flash of arcane light of bluish-silver shade. Rising in the air, he flew into the shadowy sky, unable to see anything but darkness of a slight reddish tint. He didn't need sight, he could feel her presence down there on Earth. He smiled lightly to himself, and began the long, painful flight home.

_Your eyes stare at me in the dark._

_And I hope those eyes don't steal my freedom._

_Creed "Freedom"_

Wink's eyes slowly fluttered into focus as she awoke. The sun shined through the Crystal Palace's infirmary windows onto her petite form, and she smiled despite herself. It was so peaceful now.

She lay in bed, warm in the sunbeams and completely at ease. The only sound was the gentle wisp of her breath, which was growing less laboured as she recovered. 

With her eyes closed in contentment, she placed a hand absently on her stomach. It no longer hurt, she'd been lucky. The stab wound had not been too deep, or it would have killed her. Desperation had kept her from dying that day. And it had saved Lloyd.

The thoughts of the silver haired wingly ruined the happiness induced by the beautiful day, and she let loose a silent sigh. Miranda had told her he had died at the hands of the God of Destruction. She seemed to think it a good thing.

But Wink didn't feel that way. He'd saved her life twice, and she barely had known anything about him. She'd been very surprised to know that he was actually one of the mythological Winglies. But it hadn't changed how she felt about him.

But, she had to put him behind her. At least, that's what Queen Theresa and the Sacred Sisters said. She had just done what she usually did and agreed.

With another sigh, this one loud and long, she sat up and stretched, then rose from the comfortable bed and got dressed into her silk and velvet attire. 

She stepped into the hallway and was met by her mother, Theresa, who smiled slightly.

"Good morning."

She smiled. "Good morning your Majesty."

"How are you feeling?" Theresa asked.

"Okay." She shrugged a little, then laughed. "It's almost fully healed by now."

"That's good."

Excusing herself, Wink grabbed a coat and began out towards town. She felt like taking a walk to clear her head.

No one stopped her as she exited the Palace, though a few guards she knew smiled politely. She nodded back.

The city was already bustling with activity despite the early hour. People were opening up stores, walking around, and proceeding towards normal life. Wink was glad that everyone was happy again.

She ducked out of the way as a child ran passed, thinking about where she'd go. Perhaps the forest would be a good destination, now that the dangerous wolf had been dealt with. She couldn't see a reason why not, so she walked dignifiedly but hurriedly towards the edge of town. She didn't want anyone to see her and insist that a guard come, she felt like being alone. 

She ran a hand through her hair, just vaguely thinking of how she should have brushed it. The snow was low and wet, and was melting in the sunlight rapidly. It was nearly summer, and the snow might even melt away entirely this year if it was warm enough. 

Up ahead, the forest loomed like a bright kindred spirit as she began down the windy path. She passed the turnoff to the dragon mountain and continued on to the steps leading over the canyon-like dirt path into the heavy foliage. 

She paused, and bit her lip. It had been the first time she'd been here since when Lloyd had saved her from the Wingly, Bardel. She'd never had a need to return, and it was particularly painful now. 

She stopped by the side of the road and sat down on a rock, resting her head in her hands. Why was she the only person who cared about Lloyd anymore? Why was everyone so unforgiving?

But it hardly mattered really. As long as she kept believing in his memory.

She sighed and picked up a small rock, dyed red by a few drops of blood. With her mind set firmly on the haunting memories, she didn't see the figure in the sky approaching her.

_A/N: Hope you liked this first chapter, lol. Please review if you have any comments or questions._

Also, it's been awhile since I did the Mille Seseau part of LoD, so if I make any mistakes, don't hesitate to tell me. 

_Thanks again for reading._

_Ps: I've totally forgotten the name of the Sacred Sister with the purple hair that reads people's thoughts or whatever. If someone could tell me this I'd REALLY appreciate it, lol! xD_


	2. Bound and Tied

_On Sapphire Wings_

_Chapter 2_

_My hands are tied._

_My body's bruised; she's got me with,_

_Nothing to win_

_And nothing left to lose…_

_And you give yourself away…_

Filled with a tireless energy of desperation, Lloyd refused to accept it, but he was losing energy fast. He could feel the essence of plant life all around him, and figured he was above the forest by the Crystal Palace. The snow cast cold air up to him, but the sun was on his back, giving him both the feeling of heat and chill. He licked his dry lips and halted in midair, searching for the sign of Her mind out there. It was so close. 

And then he found it, and was on the ground before he could think otherwise. The suddenness of standing brought him to his knees in the melting snow, and he coughed, breathing in and out heavily. He tried to stand up, and was too exhausted, so he remained on the cold ground, waiting for the strength to continue his search.

He needn't have worried.

"Um…hello?"

The silver-haired head shot up, and blind eyes flickered about habitually. A bead of sweat slid down his cheek and his lungs began to ache as even breathing halted. 

There was the sound of plants crunching underfoot and tree branches being pushed aside, and then an adauble intake of breath. Lloyd panted lightly, hands and knees in the snow, and wished he could see again.

"Lloyd!" 

Soft hands reached down at his bicep and slowly helped him stand up, and the feel brought life back to him more than anything else could.

"I thought you were dead…" Said the soft, nymph-like voice. The silky voice was a gentle caress against his battered mind. 

He shook his head dumbly, unsure of what to do. "No."

"Well – are you okay?" He could feel the blue eyes on him. "What happened? You're covered in blood…"

"Miranda hasn't told you?" He asked.

A stick broke as she shuffled her feet uncomfortably. "She said you were dead."

"I see. I thought the same."

"But you're not…" 

He shrugged. "More's the pity."

"What?"

"Nothing. How are you feeling Wink?"

There was a pause, and she was obviously surprised that he remembered her name. "Lloyd, we have to get you to a doctor or something."

He shivered a little and ran and hand through his hair. "It's too late for that now. I just wanted to see if you were okay."

"You think I'm going to let you die?" Wink asked incredulously. "Come on, someone at the palace will help us."

"No they won't."

The small hands gripped his arm defiantly, and she tugged lightly. "I'm a Sacred Sister, of course they will!"

Lloyd, not feeling like arguing, nodded. "Fine."

She walked forward a ways, and he tried clumsily to follow, stumbling a little. The potion had only stopped blood-loss. "Can you see? Oh my god, you're eyes…okay, here, take my hand. I'll lead you."

He obeyed wordlessly. This hadn't been quite what he had in mind, but it hardly mattered. He'd found her.

Wink fought desperately with the nasty little voice in her head, refusing to believe that Fate would have handed her this chance for nothing. 

She gazed back at Lloyd, and back at the pathway. He didn't look great; his normally quite pale skin a snowy white. His garnet eyes stared forward in the familiar stony way, yet their pupiless depth revealed a startling amount of emotion. He'd given up on himself.

_No!_

The forest watched the mismatched pair from behind them with its all-seeing vision, and the Crystal Palace loomed in front, shimmering a greeny blue that glimmered the snow's reflection. They would have to take a different route; they couldn't cut through the town. 

No, there was no way they could get through without being seen. They'd have to find somewhere else. But where?

Shakahna! She could help!

As the city loomed up, Wink whispered. "Try and be quiet. I know somewhere to go."

With a quick glance around to make sure no one was watching, she began to turn in to an alleyway. So far so good, no one saw her…

"Hey! Wink!"

Her heart jumped, and she spun about, almost colliding into Lloyd. Past him, a young man ran up. 

"What are you doing out here by yourself?"

With a mental sigh of relief, she realized it was Haris, a man from Tiberoa that had just recently joined the city guard. He knew nothing about Lloyd, and even if someone had told him, he wouldn't know the Wingly on sight.

_Thank you god._

"I-I was just visiting a friend, Haris." She said, trying to pull a sincere smile, though she was incredibly anxious. Every second, someone could see…

"Oh, okay. Um – this young man seems to be – uh accompanying you?" He asked, obviously curious.

"Er – yeah, he is, don't worry. I'll introduce you two a little later, I really gotta run."

"Oh – okay. See you later, your majesty."

Wink smiled again, and dashed off at the quickest pace she could accomplish without looking suspicious, pulling Lloyd after her. He remained dutifully quiet.

She continued down the alleyway until she reached a wooden door half hidden in shadow. She knocked lightly; still gazing around to make sure no one was looking. She felt strange, like a teenage girl sneaking a boyfriend around – or something like that.

Deciding at that to shut her mind off for now, she waited until the door was unlocked and pulled open. A young Tiberoan woman gazed out, and smiled. "Wink! What brings you?"

"I need a little – help." She bit her lip and motioned her head towards Lloyd. 

Shakahna's pupils contracted visibly, and she said, "Alright, come in," in a slow, measured voice.

"Thank you." Wink said, pulling her stoic companion in after her.

Shakahna closed the door and gaze her a long, steady look. She had the dark skin and hair of most people from the more Southern continent, with orange eyes that almost looked like a shadowy, duller version of Lloyds. Her long hair was tied back in a blue bandana, and she wore an indigo coloured wool jacket, and long black skirt. "What is he doing here?"

"He needs help Kahna." Wink pleaded. "Please."

"Wink…" Lloyd muttered.

"You keep your mouth shut." Shakahna snapped, and then said, "He's an outlaw, Wink! Don't you remember the last time this little situation arised?"

Wink nodded, "Don't worry, he's on our side, I swear!"

"I don't know…" She rolled her eyes and muttered. "Fine."

With an astoundingly quick movement, Shakahna turned to Lloyd and held up a small stone, and his eyes closed as he began to slump over. Shakahna caught him as he fell, and ground her teeth together at his bulk. 

"What was that?" Wink demanded.

Shakahna carefully lowered him to the floor while muttering. "Bought it awhile back off a travelling merchant. He's just asleep. That'll help if I'm gonna do anything about his injuries. Now, help me get him into my bed."

"Thank Kahna."

"Mmm hmm." She smiled, and with Wink's help, picked Lloyd up. He was surprisingly heavy, due to his height and muscularity, but they managed. Shakahna had been a nurse before she moved to Mille Seseau, and it hadn't taken long for Wink and her had become friends. Wink trusted her to help Lloyd.

They laid him down on the bed, and Wink sighed, "I'm so sorry about this Kahna. But he saved my life more than once, I need to help him."

"You nearly gave your life for him once. He captured our queen, he nearly ended our world – god Wink – what does it take for you to stop liking people?"

"I can't help it. Please – just help him. You're the only person I can trust."

"Fine. You should go back to the castle, relax a bit. Come back tonight and I'll have him all fixed up." Shakahna said, turning away from her to the unconscious form of the wingly on the bed. 

"Okay." Wink muttered, and she began away.

"Wink, where were you?" 

The voice cut through the air like a knife, as it always did. Wink smiled despite herself and shrugged.

"No where. Just went for a walk."

Miranda looked at her a moment, then muttered, "Long walk."

"Mmm hmm."

"How are you feeling?" Miranda demanded, trying not to seem suspicious. Miranda, despite her slight 'anger problems,' could usually see through Wink fairly easily, to her misfortune.

"I'm okay." The blond haired woman smiled lightly. "It wasn't that bad of a cut."

"Ah…well, okay then." Miranda said, walking away. Wink nodded and began towards throne room. She entered it quietly, hoping for a moment to be alone.

She closed the door behind her, turned, and gasped in surprise. 

"Good morning Wink." Luanna smiled lightly. Wink couldn't help but notice how much her fellow Sacred Sister's eyes resembled Lloyds. She nodded her head respectfully.

"Good morning, Luanna. Did you sleep well?"

"Yes. How are you feeling?" Luanna asked. The repetitious question was beginning to anger Wink, but she shrugged it off. 

"I'm feeling okay."

Luanna took a step forward, her blind eyes catching and holding Wink's. "There's something wrong though."

Wink sighed, knowing that there was no way to lie to her fellow Sister, and nodded.

She allowed the probing eyes to peer deep into her spirit, and Luanna finally said, "Do you think Shakahna can help him?"

"I hope so."

There was a small smile. "You're are too kind sometimes, Wink. You know how much trouble this will cause if someone finds out."

"I know – but…" Wink and walked over to a window to gaze out with a sigh. "I need to help him. It's not just, like, trading a life for a life. He helped me twice for no reason when I really needed it. I can't just let him die now just because I already payed him back."

"I understand that, Wink. But you have to be rational…"

"That's what everyone says! What is that supposed to mean? 'Yes, you saved my life, now I'm gonna let you die?'" Wink asked in a discouraged tone.

"I don't know." Luanna paused a moment then said. _"I _think you should help him for now, to get back on his feet. But after that, you have to let him go, Wink. He's a very dangerous man and if you get too attached, you're going to end up in some situations you won't be able to handle."

"I'm not weak." Wink protested.

"Think of it this way. He's a national – possibly international – outlaw, he has spent the last long while of his life perusing a goal that ultimately led to a lot of death. And he's – not of the same species." Luanna said the last part overly fast.

Something in Wink snapped. "Is that all? He's one of those Winglies, so therefore we have to hate him?"

"You know that's not it." Luanna returned, firmly but still with the consoling tone. 

Wink sighed and sat down on the windowsill. "I don't know what to do."

"Wink, have you considered that maybe he doesn't want to be saved?"

"What?" Wink hissed.

"In Vellweb, when you got hit, he was ready to die." Luanna began cautiously. "And then, Miranda says he was once again ready to die for the good of fighting Melbu Frahma. But he came back. Maybe he just wanted to see that you were not hurt before he passed on?"

"But he…"

"I'm sorry."

Wink shook her head. "No, I won't let him die, no matter what he thinks. He's just – guilty, because that other Wingly tricked him. I can help him."

Luanna shook her head. There was something in her eyes that had a sorrowful understanding, but Wink refused to let herself be swayed. 

"Then help him. I just don't want you hurt."

"I know, Luanna. I'll be careful." 

**

Authors note: I've decided that to blend it better with the story, I'm not gonna say the name of the lyrics at the beginning of the chapters until the last chapter. If you're curious, email or ask over review though. I just want it to look tidier. =)

Oh, and thanks to Sora and Marissa for reviewing! Double kudos for telling me (and attempting, hehehe) to tell me Luanna's name, I could not remember it!


	3. Killer Instincts and Bestial Rage

On Sapphire Wings

_Chapter 3 _

_It's been awhile_

_Since I could hold my head up high_

_It's been awhile_

_Since I first saw you_

_And it's been awhile_

_Since I could stand on my own two feet again_

_And its been awhile since I could call you_

_And everything I can remember… _

It took Lloyd several minutes to realize that he was awake as he lie in the fire-warmed bed. His mind danced amongst many thoughts, unable to focus on anything specifically. He had no idea what he wanted anymore.

With a sigh, he decided he'd better get up. 

His orange eyes shot open, and he lay there, waiting for any sign of life. Under normal circumstance, the unfamiliar setting would set of an inborn caution in his mind, but he couldn't see the place anyway. 

"Your finally awake. I was ready to get Wink to drag you away." Said the sharp, slightly accented voice of Shakahna. Lloyd looked over to the source of the voice, habit taking over. He grunted softly, and sat up. There was a wicked, fiery agony in his gut, and he inhaled with a hiss.

Shakahna chuckled. "Good job."

Lloyd said nothing, standing up slowly and much more carefully.

_Even the best learn from mistakes._

That had been something Lenus had once said. The pale wingly clenched his teeth at the thought; she'd slipped on a rock and fallen into the water when she said that. For some strange reason it had been incredibly funny then, which only added to the pain of the memory. She was always falling down, not necessarily because she was clumsy – she'd been more agile than him – but because she didn't pay much attention to walking. 

He'd taken her for granted. She was so damn giving; he'd gotten used to be able to lean on her that he'd gotten preoccupied with himself. And then he'd lost her. 

He was such an idiot. 

"That should heal up in about a week or so. It must have been some attack on ya, it wiped out your vision, but that'll be back by sometime tonight." 

The voice snapped his mind back to the present. He shook his head as if it explained it and said, "Thank you for your help." 

"I didn't do it for you." He could almost see the laughter in her eyes. By her voice alone, he pictured her as a youngish human girl, probably at least half Tiberoan, with slanted eyes. He wasn't sure why he pictured her eyes the way he did, something about her cynical voice reminded him of some sort of animal, a wolf perhaps. Dangerous yet protective.

"I know why you did it." Lloyd said in a low voice. "I'm sorry to waste your time."

"Don't get that attitude going. That's not why Wink brought you here." There was something about the way that she said this that was very enigmatic. This was a very intense woman. "She'll be back soon, within a half hour or so."

"Alright." Lloyd replied. 

There was a small laugh. "Oh yeah, you can't see. Here, just a sec."

A chair scraped the ground as Shakahna walked over to him and led him to what he imagined was a couch. He sat down slowly with her help, hating feeling so vulnerable.   

Shakahna sat down beside him. "So…tell me about it."

"What?"

"The, uh, moon objects, and that crap. I wanna hear your side of the story." 

The smallest of smiles crept up on Lloyd's lips. "I'm not a great storyteller."

"I can deal." He assumed that she shrugged. "Come on, I'm trying to make conversation!"

Lloyd nodded and told her about the times before the Serdian War, when he'd lived in a costal town in Serdio with Lenus. Melbu Frahma, disguised as the legendary man who liberated the humans, Diaz, had been passing by the town, and had told Lloyd and Lenus about the moon objects, which he said, would unite the humans with winglies. Foolishly, Lloyd had aided him in the plot. He had understood that many would die, but the thought of not having to hide from the humans pushed him on.

There was a war between two countries, Basil and Sandora. It had only required a slight push to bend it to Lloyd's will, suggesting that capturing the moon child, whom Diaz said was a woman named Shana, would help Sandora defeat Basil. 

After that, Lloyd just had to repeat to Shakahna the story she'd most likely already heard. She didn't interrupt until they got to the Lenus's death.

"Dart killed her?" She asked in a shocked tone.

Lloyd glared at the floor, though all he saw was the scarlet blackness. "It was my fault. I shouldn't have left her there…"

"No one ever told me that…they really didn't mention her…"

"Why should they? It was my actions that sealed her fate, they were just the messengers." 

"I'm so sorry…"

"So am I." Lloyd replied, trying to keep the self-loathing from his voice. 

Wink hadn't realized how late it had become until the sky was an elegant indigo shade, the clouds a strange violety-blue against it. Taking in a deep breath, she began out of the castle.

As expected, the captain of the guards, Kira, immediately asked if she wanted an escort.

"I'm just visiting a friend, I'll be fine." Wink protested.

Kira gave an apologetic expression and shook his head. "Beggin' your pardon, your highness, but there are – weird folk out at night. It's not safe."

Wink smiled lightly, her mind off in a whole different place. "I'm only going to Shakahna's house. If anyone bad comes, someone'll notice."

"Well, okay…"

"Thank you."

Without looking back, Wink sped out of the castle doors.

The city was far more intimidating by night than by day, with the houses looming down on her and casting sinister-looking shadows, and if her mind wasn't so preoccupied, Wink might have seen the figure watching her from the alleys.

She took one step towards the alleyway, and a tough, callused hand stifled her scream. Her eyes widened in her head as she was pulled close to a powerfully built figure and hushed by a long, bloodstained knife that shimmered in the moonlight, resting near her neck. 

The hand at her mouth moved away suddenly, and one scream pierced into the night before the scenery flickered and disappeared.

The slightly muffled cry startled Lloyd and Shakahna both into silence until Shakahna demanded, "What was that?"

At Lloyd's shrug, she rose to her feet and rushed over to something, most likely a window. He followed in curiosity.

"Oh crap." She cried. "Wink!"

The Wingly's mind was instantly on alert. "What?"

Shakahna brushed past him without a word, and the door was flung open. Trying to avoid running into anything, he dashed outside just in time to hear the scream. 

His hand flew to his hip with the speed of instinct, but as it did he remembered he had no weapon anymore. It was too late anyway. He recognized the sudden rush of power, followed by complete blankness. 

"What the _hell_ was that?" Shakahna demanded to who knew what.

"That was a Wingly." Lloyd told her with an uncontrolled rage in his voice. "He hasn't gone far."

"What do we do?" A slight weakness in the wolf-like voice.

"I need to go after her." Then reality hit. "But I can't see."

"I'm coming, I'll be your eyes."

Silver wings burst from his shoulders, and he shook his head. "I'm using a means not available to you."

The mental picture he was forced to rely on of the woman turned a cynical gaze on him. "What do you suggest?"

He debated it with himself for a moment, and then with a sigh, he wrapped an arm around her waist and lifted her up, rising in the air. Luckily, she was very slim and light.

She let out a loud, disgraceful gasp of surprise, followed by, "Jesus Christ! Warn me before you do that next time!"

"Noted." He muttered, beating his wings to give the two of them elevation. Shakahna busied herself with wiggling into the most comfortable position she could under the circumstance. 

A sudden spark of energy informed Lloyd that Wink's attacker had teleported somewhere not far away, though he had no idea whether it was North, South, East or West. Relying simply on the magical ambience the other Wingly gave off, he flew away from the town. 

With a slight hint of wonder in her voice, Shakahna murmured, "Sonuvabitch, I'm flying…"

Lloyd said nothing, though under a different situation, he would have found her reaction amusing. It was a good thing she wasn't scare of heights.

As if reading his thoughts, Shakahna latched onto his neck and pulled herself as close to him as she could as if he was her only lifeline. "God, we're really high aren't we…"

"I won't drop you." He told her in a monotone voice.

"You better not! Where are you going?"

He shook his head, "You tell me."

"Okaaay, we're headed for the forest. Is he close?"

"Yes. Whatever he wants, he wasn't planning on going anywhere specific." 

With a curse, he realized that he was tiring, and his stomach felt like it was on fire. He pushed on as much as he could, but he prayed for all gods sake they were getting close.

"I see him!" Shakahna yelled out. "Down!" 

Reacting to her sudden remark, Lloyd let his wings stop, and they began to plummet at extreme speed. His flight companion let out a small shriek of surprise and her fingernails dug into his neck in fear. 

"You're gonna hit the ground!" She cried, swearing venomously. At that cue, he caught the wind expertly with his wings and stopped in midair, lowering himself carefully to the last five feet until his feet touched the ground.

"Lloyd, help!" Came Wink's voice. At the sound, a magical flame came into his hand. 

"Don't move!" Said a masculine voice. It sounded somewhat familiar…

Bardel. Hadn't Lloyd killed that egomaniac?

"Lloyd, he's got a knife." Shakahna informed him slowly. "Do what he says."

In one swift moment, Lloyd leapt towards him and kicked him as hard as he could. 

He didn't need vision. This fool was giving off so much energy, Lloyd could see him perfectly in his minds eyes. He watched as the Wingly toppled over in surprise. 

Though he could only see the Wingly, he knew he'd made a mistake. Wink made a small grunt as the knife slashed into her.

And then, with a startling suddenness, he _could _see her, and everything else. It all had that weird red tint, but his vision had returned like Shakahna said it would.

He squinted against the sudden light, and turned his attention on Wink. The blade had grazed her on the arm, but she was intact.

"Get back." He commanded, turning on Bardel. Yes, it was definitely the guy from before, but shorter and less bulky. Perhaps a relative.

The Wingly looked up at Lloyd, and paused, deep in thought. "Hey – your that guy that killed my brother! _Die Bastard!_"

The knife dug deep into his leg, and Lloyd toppled over in surprise, gritting his teeth against the pain.

There was a grunt beside him, and Bardel's eyes rolled back as he fell unconscious. Shakahna had kicked him in the head.

"Are you okay?" She asked, looking down at him. 

He nodded. "Just a scratch." He stood up and looked over at Wink. "Are you alright?"

With a startling suddenness, she wrapped her arms around his neck and embraced him tightly. "Thank you!"

Shakahna laughed slightly and turned back towards the unconscious Bardel. "What do we do with him?"

Lloyd thought a moment, then knelt beside the Wingly. With a small amount of energy, he summoned up a small blaze in his palm and held it to the face of Bardel. It flickered and then seemed to melt into his skin.

Lloyd stood, nodded to them and said, "Let's go."

"What did you do? Did you kill him?" Wink questioned.

Lloyd shook his head and took a look back at the man who'd kidnapped Wink. There was a bright red scar where the fire had burned into him, shaped perfectly in the shape of a diamond with a moonlike crescent in it. "No. But we shouldn't have to worry about him."

Not four miles away, three Wingly's sat around a fire. One was female and the two other were male, and all of them had the traditional silver hair with the slightest hint of blue in it. 

The woman looked up at one of her companions, a tall man with an almost feminine, slender body and strong muscles lining his arms and torso. His amazingly pale face was deeply engrossed in studying the depths of the fire, and he hardly moved. 

"Bardel's been gone a long time." She told him in the language of the Winglies.

"I know." He said.

The other Wingly, Kianako, smiled grimly, the fire casting shadowy tattoos across his face. He was not exactly bad looking, but the constant viciousness of his expression gave him a look that frightened most woman out of any thoughts of him being handsome. "He's found the girl that killed 'is brother, and you know how Bardel is about that stuff. He'll most likely come back late."

The woman nodded. "So what's the plan?"

She and Kianako looked to their stoic companion, who never twitched his gaze away from the fire. "We wait for him to come back, and then we attack the Palace. Anyone we don't kill is going to be kept as a captive, preferably someone from the royal family." 

"Okay Ky. What about the Wingly you felt here?" Kianako asked. Kyris shrugged.

"Kill him too." 

A/N: The proofreading may be really bad here, I was really tired when I looked it over…if it's too bad I'll delete the chapter and add it back on after really proofreading =)


	4. Souls of Fire

_On Sapphire Wings_

Chapter 4 

_Can you take it all away?_

_Can you take it all away?_

_When you shoved it in my face?_

Explain again to me… 

_Can you take it all away?_

_Can you take it all away?_

_When you shoved it in my face…_

Albert sighed absently as Meru bounded into the Thrown Room, followed by Guaraha. He had a headache to die over. All this work was exciting, but there was just something… 

He had this _feeling._ Something was coming, and his inability to identify it aggravated him. It could be anywhere; it could be killing the citizens of Indels Castle and Bale at any moment… 

"I brought the people from that coastal town here, you majesty." Meru said in mock etiquette. 

He smiled lightly, thankful that his friend was here. "Thank you for your help. Where are they currently?"

"They were a dying population, only around fifty people, so I suggested they stay in the castle, begging your pardon." Said Meru's husband, Guaraha.

She laughed, "Can we lose the formality if no ones looking?"

Albert nodded with a grin. Standing, he raised an eyebrow slightly, a skill no king should be without. "Where are they?"

"With Emille in the Bedroom Chambers." Meru replied. "They are very tired."

Raising a hand to his aching head absent-mindedly, Albert sauntered down the carpet covered stone steps and out of the throne room. His Wingly friends followed.

It was true, the populace of the Wingly newcomers was disturbingly small; either something had killed a huge amount of them off, or there town had been slowly dying off, as if waiting to be found. They were mostly sleeping or staring off at things, all dressed in ripped articles of clothing cut short and almost slinky by human standards, and it was obvious that they were used to the tropical weather of the Serdian Coasts nearest Tiberoa. Each had the characteristic silver hair and their eyes seemed like jewels, fiercely brighter than human eyes. They were all also very well built and muscular and it seemed that they were used to work. Perhaps filling in for the lack of population. Albert gazed around for the leader, remembering that Meru had said that leaders were usually old descendants of the more powerful ancient Winglies.

Meru quelled the chance of approaching the wrong man by dancing over to an old man in a wool cloak and black garb and saying, "Let me introduce, his majesty Albert. Al, this is Curakan, he's the boss of these guys."

Curakan smiled and nodded respectfully. "Thank you for taking us in, King Albert."

"Of course." Albert gave his most winning smile and ran a hand through the lithe golden bangs that fell into his eyes. "It's the policy of the Serdian royal family to provide shelter to the winglies who desire it. If you so wish, space will be laid out for the constructions of your homes, and in the mean time, my home is your home."

"We are lucky to have this opportunity. _Tiunrik." _After saying this, some sort of blessing in the Wingly language, Curakan bowed and turned his attention to a white haired girl who was looking expectantly up at him. "Oh yes. This is Artewa. She wanted to ask you something."

Emille walked up behind the girl and gave Albert a questioning look before walking to his side. He gave her a quick smile then said, "Of course."

Artewa gazed up into his eyes and spoke in a voice so highly accented that it was nearly indiscernible. "Have you seen a woman named Lenus here?"

Something in his mind seemed to reach around and grab his throat. Of course he knew Lenus, but he wasn't sure he had the heart to tell this girl of her fate…

"Yes." He said slowly. "She aided a man in some – bad things…"

Artewa glared up at him and finished, "And she was killed."

"Yes." He said in an unsteady way. The metaphysical constriction on his windpipe tightened. 

"You are a liar." 

The complete belief in her words was striking. "What?" Albert stammered simply.

"Lenus would never hurt anyone, even if Lloyd told her too." Artewa said. "Lloyd was a swordsman, but he wasn't evil either."

"I…" Albert stuttered.

Meru sighed and bent down to look into the Wingly girls eyes, and then spoke in the fast and fluent Wingly language to her. Artewa listened, and then shook her head sorrowfully.

"I'm sorry." Emille told her in a slow voice. "How did you know Lenus?"

"I'm her sister."

Kyris' eyes burned from looking so long into the fire, and his body ached, but he ignored it expertly. Shifting from his cross-legged sitting position, he returned to looking into the wavering appendages of the fire, watching it's intense beauty as the light trembled around crazily off his face. He was deep in thought about a number of things.

Distantly, he was aware that Bardel had taken too long, but it hardly mattered to him. The man was an arrogant ass, and he annoyed him. Kyris was more worried about the other Wingly in the human city. There was something ominous about the couple of power surges he'd felt from the being, though they were few, as the individual was trained in hiding his magical energy. There was something far too professional about him, too – ambitious. Like this person was more than just a refugee. 

His eyes flickered up as a stick broke just outside the clearing. Bardel blundered in, rubbing his head and walking shakily.

"What happened to you, sunshine?" Kianako asked with a small smirk.

"There was someone with the girl." Bardel muttered, sitting down beside the fire on a flat rock.

Nyisann cocked an eyebrow. "Why didn't you kill him then?"

"He was strong…" Bardel gave her an injured look and added, "A Wingly."

Kyris would have said nothing, but something about this aggravated him. Without looking up, he asked: "Didn't you sense him earlier?"

"No…"

"What's that?" Nyisann demanded suddenly. 

"What?" Bardel asked her incredulously.

"On your face!"

Kyris froze, staring into the fire like a statue. It couldn't be…

His fears were confirmed. On Bardel's face was a scar, dark scarlet fading to black, of a diamond with a moon shape in it. 

"What the friggin hell is that?" Kianako demanded. Bardel blinked, unable to see.

"A scar." Kyris told him. "It's Rowan's signature."

"Rowan?" Nyisann asked curiously. 

With the calmness of a parent, Kyris said, "He was a mercenary back at my home a few years ago, before the Serdian War. Apparently, he was very difficult to work with."

Kianako rose an eyebrow. "So, we kill him. Boom, problem solved, right?"

"It's not that simple."

"He may have been able to beat Bardel around a bit, but he's only mortal. We can take him."

"Come on, Kian. If he's enough to jitter Kyris around, then I think he's a little harder than _that." _Nyisann prompted softly. She looked at Kyris, and her blue-green eyes were gentle and trustworthy, resembling twin oceans. "But do we have to kill him? He _is _one of our own…"

"No." Kyris could tell his voice was softening for the woman. She was young and was almost _too_ peaceful considering the feat awaiting them, but he was fond of her. "He was apparently really – enigmatic - about his actions. He may just as easily want to stop us as help us."

"So what do we do?" Kianako asked.   

  "We wait and see." Kyris stood up and reached down to pick up the shoulder strap of a silver engraved sword sheath. Putting his arm through the strap, he hoisted the heavy blade onto his back and said, "Let's go now. Don't take anything but weapons."

Without any remorse to the dying fire, the self-appointed leader of the four Winglies poured water from a wooden bucket onto the flames while almost simultaneously rising into the air. Nyisann followed almost immediately, a willow stave clutched in one of her hands tightly. 

"Do you have it?" Kyris asked, looking at her pocket as if _it _would jump out at any moment. 

She nodded with a frown. "Kyris, you know how I feel, so I'm only going to ask this once. Are you sure you want to do this?" 

Of course she was against it, she'd been raised that way. But Kyris was set on his plans, he wouldn't be abated from his path by her blissful ignorance. He'd promised himself to make a special effort to make her happy after this was all done, and he would. She'd see…life would be better…

"Yes." He said simply. 

 "Okay then." She drew a silver, uncut stone from her pocket. It was strange looking, translucent like a ruby, but a rich grey colour. 

It was the stone made by Shishai, the first and as far as Kyris knew only Wingly Dragoon. She had mastered and bent the Divine Dragon to her will, and in her dying will had taken away a huge amount of the power they shared and placed it in an ordinary stone so that if and when the King of the Dragons turned against the Earth, he would not be able to destroy it. 

Now, they were going to turn it against the humans who had brutally forced the Winglies into submission, and free their kind again.

"Come on!" Kianako grinned wickedly. "Let's go kick some butt!"

With a small smile, Kyris turned and flew west into the sunset. Bardel, Kianako and Nyisann followed.

The silver jewel fascinated Kyris. As if like a living being, the stone refused to operate for anyone besides Nyisann, as she was the one who first found it. Unfortunately, that meant he had to rely on her to perform the task of summoning the its power, and the tall Wingly hated relying on people. Worst of all, he didn't know exactly what the thing would do.

Winglies had long since perfected the skill of hovering in the air without using any concentration, and it was very helpful now. Nyisann had her eyes closed and was floating in the air with occasional wingbeats, focusing on unlocking the powers of the stone. Kianako and Bardel were keeping an eye on the city, which left Kyris to wait. 

Seconds past. Then minutes. With a sudden jerk, Kyris realized that his heart was pounding, and he was tenser than ever before. They were actually going to do it…

More minutes, like hours, past by. Anticipation built as the fateful results of Nyisanns prying into the 'mind' of the stone drew nearer.

Once again, Lloyd and Shakahna were alone. Lloyd lay back against the plush couch and closed his eyes, deep in thought. He wasn't sure what he would do now. He'd considered going back home, but he didn't think he could without Lenus. Perhaps he could do some travelling, look up the condition of some of the places he'd hurt…

_'Where are you?'_

At first, he didn't even realize that he'd heard anything, but slowly it became louder. A voice, calling out to no one in particular. He looked around awkwardly, taking a moment to realize that the words he heard were not spoken by the lips of any person. It was someone's thoughts.

_'Come to me. Awaken from your sleep…' _The voice called into the darkness it had came from. Lloyd listened curiously. It sounded like some sort of incantation…

_'Yes, there you are. Come out, rise up. Yeeees…'_

Lloyd started violently as, with shocking ferocity, a new voice replied to the firsts beckoning. 

_'What do you want?'_

The other voice, soft and much more mortal then the vicious one, paused, then continued triumphantly.

_'I found you. Awake from your dormancy! Reclaim the world that was taken from you!'_

The inhuman voice roared, _'Who are you?'_

_'Your faithful servant. Come to me! Take your vengeance!'_

_'You are freeing me?'_

Lloyd's entire body, even his heartbeat, seemed to stop as he listened. _'Yes. Use my body to return to the lost world of Endiness!'_

The inhuman voice bellowed out a earth-shattering roar that sent Lloyd straight to his feet, and then the softer speaker cut off suddenly.

"What's wrong?" Shakahna asked, giving Lloyd a funny look. He ignored her and ran out of the door. Something was very wrong.

The chill nights air blasted against him as he went outside, but it was the least of his concerns. The soft voice had been a Wingly, and it had known the methods of summoning and drawing power from things, an art long since forgotten by the Wingly culture. What that meant, Lloyd was unsure of, but he had a horrible feeling about it. He had to find the summoner immediately.

It was too late. He could feel the thought-enveloping pull of the power of the summoned thing, and it brought him to his knees, his entire being exploding in pain. The source of the orgasm of magic was a single body, meaning that the summoner had accomplished what it wanted and now Lloyd and everyone in Deningrad was at its mercy.

He flew as fast as he could towards the host of the One with the Demon Voice.

Kyris exhaled sharply as Nyisann's eyes snapped open, and they were wide and extremely distant, like she was no longer in control of her own body. Kianako laughed in triumph.

Nyisann stayed motionless for a moment, and it became apparent to Kyris that he'd been right, the jewel had bore a living thing, and that thing had taken her body. A shudder of pleasure went down his spine. This was going excellently. 

Taking in everything hastily, Kyris put a cold hand on Nyisanns arm and whispered.

"Aim for the city."

As if coming back to herself, Nyisann turned to the human city of Deningrad and spread her arms wide.

Cold, chilling fear burned through Lloyd like fire. The feel of the summoned creature was _far _too familiar and he could almost feel the mortifying sensation of small things crawling over his body as he recalled it. The spirit of the Divine Dragon had been called forward. 

He cursed aggressively into the wind and fairly _crawled_ his way through the air, beating his wings as hard as he could. He had to stop the Dragon from destroying everything.

He saw her standing on the air, arms outstretched, like a wicked silver angel of death. She wore an expression of blank rage, and was preparing to hit the city with the incredible might of the King of Dragons.

Beating his wings until they felt like they were seizing up, his hurled himself towards the Wingly woman and hit her square in the stomach. Clutching her to him in a tackle, he drew up all the magic he could from inside himself and cast it into vulnerable woman's mind, hoping to absorb the attack fated for the city.

The woman made a banshee cry and her expression turned very less vacant as she began to claw at Lloyd's arms in surprise. 

And then they both hit the ground with a crack that he could only hope hadn't came from either of them.

And blood began to pour.

Kyris lunged towards the ground at the sight of Nyisann's sudden attacker. The two were both lying stunned on the rocky ground, and one or both of them was bleeding. 

The little cynical voice in his head was laughing mockingly at him. Why had he forgotten the mysterious Rowan so quickly? The bastard was going to ruin everything. 

He pulled Nyisann up in one quick motion and shouted, "Keep going!" With a slice, he pulled his saw-bladed sword from his back and held at Nyisann's attacker's neck.

A steel-toed boot knocked into his ankle, twisting it, and he fell over. Rowan leapt to his feet and stepped on Kyris' wrist, and he automatically let go of his sword. 

The wind sung as his own blade met his neck in a similar way as it had a moment ago on Rowan. The silver-haired attacker glared down at him with eyes that seemed unable to smile anyway, and he said, "Don't move."

Kyris looked past his shoulder, and just managed to roll out of the way before Rowan fell where he'd been with Kianako sitting in a crouching position on his back. The Wingly smiled viciously to Kyris and gave him a thumbs up.

Forced to ignore Rowan a moment, Kyris looked up to Nyisann, who had returned to her position in the air. Her white skirt and black jacket billowed on the wind that had appeared suddenly, and she began to speak in foreign words.

Something was wrong. She began to shake a little in the air, and a scream emanated from deep in her throat as a blinding white light that seemed to swallow all sight flashed through the air like the wrath of the gods. Sounds like a hurricane deafened him, and he fell to his knees as all sight and sound disappeared.

And then it passed. Not far from him, Deningrad lay in ruin, victim of the wrath of the Dragon King. 

And Nyisann was motionless on the ground. 

"Nya!" Kianako cried. The two of them both ran to her side as one, but it was far too late.

"What happened?" Kianako demanded, his eyes wide and his tone hysterical. "She was just supposed to – she should be okay! What the bloody hell happened to her?"

"No Nya…" Kyris crouched beside her, his face eerily calm though his mind was in a state of chaos and shock. He reached out and turned her face towards him. Blood was flowing from her in innumerable amounts of places. Her expression was deadpan, her beautiful eyes, and Kyris's last link to the ocean, closed. She was dead.

Guilt washed over Kyris like freezing water. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"What have you done?" Came a gruff, dusky voice from behind him. Kyris whirled around to hit his face against the cold steel of a sword blade. The glaring eyes were now full of a seething rage hotter than the fires of hell. He fell backwards in submission, landing on his rear end on the ground. 

"You killed them all…" Rowan said slowly. "You goddamn shit, you killed them all…"

Kyris's initial shock was swallowed up by rage at the Wingly who stood before him. Of course! Rowan had distracted Nyisann, and the spirit of the silver jewel had overtaken her!

"It's your fault she died…" Kyris said, his voice the exact same tone of shock and unsustainable rage that Rowan's had been.

"Shut your mouth." Rowan commanded. Bardel, who'd recognized the Wingly as his aggressor from earlier, snarled and began to come up behind the mysterious Wingly, and with a movement so fast it hardly looked like he'd moved at all, Rowan whipped around and sliced through his thick flesh. Blood splashed against the three of their faces and clothing as he died before he hit the ground, and the corpse fell over backwards in a position that caused something in Kyris's stomach to turn. Seething red eyes caught his own angrily.

Purely on instinct, Kyris punched Rowan as hard as he could in the face. His head snapped back, and then slowly returned to staring at Kyris. 

The two of them looked each other down a long time before the enigmatic man growled, slow and menacingly, "You're lucky I don't kill you both now."

"Stow it!" Kianako spat, raising his weapon, a pole arm, up towards him. "You slimy piece of shit, you killed Nyisann and Bardel!"

"You seem to forget that hundreds of people in Deningrad are now slowly dying because of you." Rowan shook his head. "You don't even deserve to live."

"Oh yeah? Then why don't you bring it?" Kyris's last standing companion demanded. 

Rowan shook his head. "I need to help who I can now." He held his face close to Kyris's, and eyes that scalded into the night with an outraged fury challenged him. "I suggest you run _now. _If you go fast enough, you might just live to see tomorrow."

He threw Kyris's sword to the ground in disgust and rose up, disappearing into the night.

Beside him, Kianako looked at him once and then collapsed beside Nyisann, cursing and speaking in a frenzied burst. Kyris blinked away all the anger and remorse and spoke his last two words to the Wingly woman's carcass. "I'm sorry."

Kianako looked up at him and shouted, "Is that all? This is all your fault, you frikkin idiot! If it wasn't for your head being so far up your ass, Nya wouldn't be dead now! What's wrong with you?"

Choking down all the sorrow, Kyris glared at him and said, "This stuff happens."

"So that's it? You just killed her and now you're just going to leave her here? You SHIT!" 

To prove his point, Kyris reached down and pulled the silver jewel from her cold fingers, and put the blazing hot stone in his pocket.

Kianako watched with wide eyes, then in a deadly voice said, "Go…"

Without a word of reply, Kyris turned and walked away from the disastrous events of the night.

Kianako let loose an enraged cry to the heavens, and watched him go with murder glinting in his eyes. 

_A/N: No! Lloyd swearing? What is the world coming to? Lol, thank you so much everyone for reading, the story is finally starting to turn into an action/adventure =P _

_Ps: Don't worry; Dart and the others will sooner or later fit into the story, lol. Hey, I got Albert and Meru in at the beginning, right? Go Al! Yay!_

_Pps: Lol, post post script. I just realized I forgot to put a lyric in Chapter 3. Oh well. -.-_


	5. Blood

_On Sapphire Wings_

Chapter Five

_And it feels now,_

_Just like heavens coming down…_

There was so much blood.

The power of the Dragon had not only turned the city of Deningrad unto a huge ruin, but very few people appeared alive anymore.

It sent a chill down Lloyd's spine as he ran through the streets. This was so wrong, she couldn't be dead…

"Wink!" He called, nearly tripping over something he hoped for his stomachs sake was not formerly attached to a human, though it looked like it had been. 

There were eyes on him from seemingly everywhere. Some were people that had been torn apart and horribly injured and were moaning for help, and some were dead, but continued to stare wide-eyed at him anyway. He gagged a little and continued running up the long street. 

She was at the palace. Maybe she would be safe – maybe the fortress would have averted the magic.

_Please god._

Reaching the crystal double doors of the palace, Lloyd pushed passed the corpse of a guard whose skin had melted off, and flung the doors open with renewed panic. 

God no. God god god, come on, this isn't happening… 

Taking the stairs two at a time, Lloyd halted only fast enough to avoid trodding on a body lying face down beside a statue. His heart sank.

The blond hair of the body was matted with blood, and there was a sickening piercing through its stomach where it had fallen over – onto the sword of the statue it lay under.

Overwhelmed by it, Lloyd hardly even noticed the Human curse word fall indignantly from his lips. 

"Lloyd." 

The voice drifted down to his ears so softly that he wouldn't have been surprised if he imagined it. He looked up to see Luanna watching him worriedly. Tears hung in her blind eyes. 

"Theresa is dead." She said. "So is Seti."

Lloyd looked back down at the stabbed body, and Luanna added. "That's Theresa, not Wink. But you have to follow me!"

Sensing the urgency in the violet-haired womans voice, Lloyd followed her as she led him to a collapsed corridor. The walls had fallen inwards in a shower of razor sharp crystals, and there was blood on the ground were people had been killed by falling pieces of stone. Luanna made a noise as if holding in a sob and said, 

"Wink is in there. She's not dead but she will be soon."

The black-garbed Wingly turned and gave her a grateful look, then began to tear his way into the crystals.

The jagged shards of the wall cut into his hands, but he bit his lip against it and furiously tried to break his way into the blockage. It was not yet done falling into place, so most of the stuff at the top was easily pulled away. It was a slow and painful process. 

After a moment of pushing away loose crystal, Lloyd found that a very minute amount of his luck had held. There was a small tunnel under the crystal that had not quite capsized yet. Without thinking a moment over it, he pulled his way into the macabrous tunnel of needle-like crystal and crawled on his hands and knees through it. Warm blood was now trickling from his leg where he figured a vein had been pierced, but a sort of animalistic strength forced him to ignore the agony of it. However, he knew he had to hurry. He couldn't keep this up long. 

He nearly vomited as he stepped down on the arm of a maid who'd been impaled by a huge green crystal. Her mouth was open in a silent scream that had lasted long after she had. 

A shudder worked its way through him. 

"Wink." He cried out hoarsely. He halted his march onwards into the corrupted corridor to listen. Silence…

And then:

"I'm here!" 

Everything in his mind lifted as the silky nymph-voice replied to his call. He pushed an overhanging translucent rock away and pushed on with the desperate might that he had felt so many times lately.

And finally he reached the end of the crystal barricade. He lifted himself out and stood shakily, and before he could react, the Sacred Sister held him as tight to her as she could, sobbing in relief and sorrow. She began to speak in a rush of words that mixed with her crying and made no sense to him. 

He thin lips turned up just the slightest bit into the ghost of a smile, and he returned the embrace, murmuring softly in her ear. "It's okay…everything's alright…"

"Seti's gone!" Wink tried to say, but ended up whispering. "She's dead!"

"I'm sorry." He said, stroking her hair.

He waited awhile for her to regain herself, and she finally let go of the hug and took a step back, wiping her eyes with her hand. 

"Everyone's dying. It's just like when the Dragon attacked us." Wink muttered. "Is anyone still alive?"

"Luanna is. And I think Miranda." Lloyd told her. He grimaced as realization sunk into Wink's mind.

"Theresa's been killed too?" 

Lloyd nodded, hating the sadness on her face. 

Wink looked about ready to go into another crying fit when Lloyd firmly said, "We have to leave now. If we don't hurry we'll be stuck here."

Wink nodded, her face twitching as she held in tears, and followed him as he walked over to the crystals. It didn't look promising.

And, as if waiting for his attention, the whole think collapsed, dust rising in the air lazily. A tendril of blood splashed out from the crystal, splattering on some debris near Wink's foot. She began to shake uneasily.

"We're stuck."

Lloyd nodded. They were in a room, possibly some kind of infirmary, and the only window in the place was blocked off by crystal. He doubted he could kick through the ceiling, and an attempt at making a hole in the floor would most likely end in the entire thing falling. They were trapped in a jewel tomb.

News of the disaster in Deningrad reached Serdio almost immediately, as a merchant just leaving the city had witnessed the horrific event and fled to Furni, where they had sent the message via pigeon to both Zior and King Albert. 

By the time night fell, Dart and Shana both knew. 

They were sitting around in their home, waiting hopefully for updates on the status of their friends in Deningrad. But the sorrow in both their hearts seemed to hang in the very air they breathed.

There was something else that bothered Dart too. The city had been attacked, though by what, Albert hadn't been able to say. 

Strangely, the dragoon spirit of the Divine Dragon was radiating softly from its spot above Dart and Shana's fireplace. It was not a bright light, but more a soft, happy glow, and something about that was disgustingly eerie. It was almost like the Spirit within the stone was happy that Deningrad had been attacked.

And it was warm, like it always was after it had been activated.

Dart didn't say anything to Shana about it, he didn't want to ruin her hope that Miranda and the Sacred Sisters may have survived. But if the Dragoon spirit was involved in this somehow, he doubted that anyone was safe.

Luanna stayed by the crystals for hours after the final collapse. She'd sat there, staring into space and thinking depressed thoughts for at least two hours, unable to believe that both Wink and Lloyd could have been killed until, without knowing it, she'd fallen into an exhausted sleep. After she awoke, it had taken her a while to remember what had happened, and then she tearfully recalled that her and Miranda were now the only Sacred Sisters left.

After the crying stopped, she stood shakily from her seat upon the pedestal of a statue and began down the stairs to find out where Miranda had gotten too. Just as she reached the bottom step, her fellow Sacred Sister called out to her.

"Luanna, are you okay?"

Luanna nodded gravely. "Wink and Lloyd were trapped by the crystals."

There was a pause, "Lloyd? He's dead!"

"I'll explain it later." 

Miranda paused again, then said. "That must be the Wingly then."

It took Luanna a long time to realize that she had not been spoken to then, and after a moment of probing Miranda's mind, learned that there was another being with her, a Wingly. 

"I found this guy wondering around the city." Luanna's blond friend explained, then said. "He told me that he could sense a Wingly at the top of the Palace, so I figured that maybe whoever it was could help Wink."

The Wingly grunted in agreement and said, "He's not hiding his magic, I can sense him up ahead. We have to hurry though, it's possible one or both of them is injured."

Miranda took Luanna's arm and led to her back up the stairs, following the vicious-faced Wingly. She knew that her blind friend was probing her mind to find out what exactly had happened, but she ignored it as she had learned long ago to do.

When the strange Wingly whom Miranda'd mentally nicknamed 'Vicious' reached the crystal barrier, he paused, speaking to himself in a foreign language. The blockage had fallen once more since the many hours ago when Miranda had came there with Luanna and learned that Wink was trapped there. 

Without warning, Vicious's hands began to glow, and he placed them on the crystal, which drooped down as if it had melted. As she watched in amazement, a huge hole developed through the aggravatingly long tunnel of gem. Vicious looked back at them once, then stepped into the tunnel within the barricade and stalked forward towards where Miranda hoped Wink was waiting. The blond woman followed, pulling Luanna along. 

It took only moments to get through the tunnel, and Miranda was shocked by what she saw, even though she'd braced herself for it.

Lloyd, who she'd watched get impaled by the magic of Melbu Frahma, was looking up at them with his ruby eyes. Wink was sitting in front of him with her eyes closed, and his arms were wrapped affectionately around her neck.

Too many things pieced together at once in Miranda's mind, and she decided to deal with it as she dealt with most things.

"What the hell are you doing, Lloyd?"

Wink's cerulean eyes opened slowly, and relief flooded through Miranda. She was alive!

"Guys! You're here!" Wink exclaimed. She stood up hastily and hugged Miranda and Luanna happily.

Miranda watched Lloyd untrustingly as Vicious walked over to him and said, "Rowan. I thought it was you."

Of course, this made no sense to Miranda, which aggravated her further, but she held her tongue as the garnet-eyed Wingly looked at Vicious and asked, "What are you doing here?"

Vicious said something in the foreign language Miranda guessed was the Wingly Language, and kicked a piece of bloody debris into the wall, searching for words. Lloyd nodded, and said something back, and Vicious shook his head, obviously upset over something.

"Okay, do you guys like know each other or something?" Miranda demanded angrily.

Vicious looked at her with a sigh and said in his shaky accent, "I helped to cause the attack."

Miranda blinked, searched her vocabulary of swear words for a decent one, gave up, and blinked again. Then she said, "O-kaaay…"

"Why did you help us then?" Wink asked.

Lloyd shook his head and said, "We should explain this all later. We have to get out of here now."

Wink felt weak with weariness, but her, Lloyd, Miranda, Luanna and the Wingly – whose name she'd learned was Kianako, all scoured over the city, searching for life.

Wink had never had to do anything so horrible in her life. The blood and gore around her was enough to more than once send her into vomiting, and those not dead were begging for it. It was like a vision of hell.

She stayed close by Lloyd's side, feeling – if possible – the slightest bit better in his presence. 

After countless hours in the freezing cold of the night, they only managed to find two uninjured citizens, two siblings, and only seven people still alive enough to be helped. The few other survivors all died midway through any sort of medical care.

Eventually they forlornly decided that there was no other life, and the fourteen of them all stood at the city centre as Luanna and Miranda debated what they do. Lloyd was staring up at the sky, thinking about something, though what Wink couldn't tell, and Kianako was anxiously trying to comfort and support the townsfolk with a near mad look in his eye. Apparently, he'd been lured by someone named Kyris into thinking that by using some sort of magical stone on the city, it would somehow lead him to a better life. He'd probably wanted revenge at the time, and when he'd gotten it, he'd realized how sour the aftertaste was. Wink felt both angry and piteous to the Wingly, but was unsure of which she actually felt more of.

"Zior will take us in." Luanna was saying.

"But we need to tell Albert about this. If this Kyris guy'll attack Deningrad, what's keeping him from doing the same thing to somewhere else?" Miranda's aggravated voice seemed booming in comparison to Luanna's soft voice that reminded Wink of the wind running through the trees in winter. 

"These people have gone through too much, Miranda. Why should we push them any harder than we have to?"

"Then, try and get some refuge from Zior, but I'm going to Serdio." 

"But it's dangerous."

"I'll be alright."

Miranda turned on Wink. "What about you? Serdio or Tiberoa?"

Wink considered it a moment, then said. "Serdio."

Luanna shook her head and said, "Fine, I'll come too." She looked seriously at Kianako. "You should come too. You have information that's vital to our protecting people from more attacks."

Kianako nodded, ignoring a snide remark from Miranda.

Finally, Luanna smiled lightly at Lloyd. "I doubt you would stay in Tiberoa, correct?"

The amber eyes flashed down from there heavenward position to study Luanna a moment, then they caught Wink's blue eyes and held them a moment which seemed to last a heavenly eternity. "I don't trust him." He inclined his head towards Kianako. "I want to be sure you'll be okay."

Miranda snorted. "I don't trust _you. _To think you've been hanging around Deningrad the last few days!"

"Miranda, he's done nothing but help since he came. If not for him, I'd be dead and so would all of you!" Wink snapped. The harshness in her tone surprised her.

Miranda looked at her a moment, then looked at Lloyd, then the ground, then she gritted her teeth together and said, "Fine."

Kianako smiled lightly and said, "Onto the trail we blaze then. We'd better go fast, Kyris isn't going to wait for us."

Miranda lead the way, closely followed by both the Winglies. The nine townspeople followed them wordlessly, and Wink and Luanna took up the rear.

Luanna looked up at Lloyd, then gave Wink a long stare that spoke words,

_'I know what you're thinking, and what you want, and I don't approve.'_

Wink was slightly surprised by the harsh expression, but she glared back rebelliously.

_'That doesn't matter.' _Her eyes replied. _'Because this is what I want, and I'm going to fight to have it.'_

 _A/N: Wow, good thing I rated this PG13. Lotsa blood there. o.o _

_I didn't really get as far with this chapter as I'd wanted to, but oh well._

_LOVE you reviewers! Thank you thank you thank you! _

_PS: Haha, and I'm sorry I confused you Sors =P_


	6. Navigating the Dark

On Sapphire Wings

Chapter Six

_I see your soul, it's kinda grey._

_You see my heart, you look away._

_You see my wrist, I know your pain._

_I know your purpose on your plane…_

The sounds of seagulls calling was one not often heard by the people of Deningrad, and for some reason it seemed very haunting to Wink as she stood at the back of the huge Tiberoan vessel, _Zephyr, _waiting patiently as they drifted peacefully towards Serdio. The ocean waves swam elegantly past the wooden ship with an indifferent rhythm, and the wind blew Wink's short blond hair back, making it feel fluffed and greasy. The Tiberoan sun beat down on her back.

Her sky-blue eyes were on Lloyd as he stood on the opposite end of the boat, watching the water. The infamous silver locks of hair whipped around attractively, and only the side of his face was visible to the Sacred sister.

She kept trying not to stare, but her eyes kept returning to his shadowy figure. He hardly ever moved, just watching the water and brooded quietly about something. 

Wink felt like she'd been on the water forever. They had left the nine survivors of the massacre of Deningrad at the Port Town, Furni, and had boarded the Zephyr, which was already going to Serdio anyways. Since then, they hadn't touched ground.

Miranda and Luanna had spent a lot of time alone, as Wink realized she had also, each of them contemplating there losses, and thinking about what the future might hold. Kian had spent a lot of time staring at things and fighting with Miranda over everything there possibly was on the planet to fight over, and Lloyd had done nearly nothing but watch the water. 

Very little conversation passed between any of them, and Wink was unsure of whether she was more happy with or without it. She wasn't sure of much right now. But she'd done a lot of thinking, and she was clearer about one thing than anything else in the world.

She loved Lloyd. No matter how wrong it was, she didn't feel sorry about it. And of course, she knew that everyone disagreed with it, for various reasons, but she couldn't help it.

But she would have to deal with that in silence, because he was nothing she could have. And she knew that, deep down in her soul. 

Wink had always been an optimistic, shy girl, but she knew the facts of the matter. Everything you want is exactly what you can never have.

Serdio was drawing closer. Within the hour, they'd be at a small harbour on it's western side, and then they could begin on towards Bale.

It was so far away…

The day past quickly, and the beautiful sceneries of Serdio would have been more interesting if Lloyd's mind wasn't on more important things. Eventually he would come back here and actually pay attention to the forested Serdian landscape, but now was not the time.

Luanna and Miranda had fallen asleep quite quickly after they had set up camp for the night, and just Lloyd, Kian and Wink were awake. The three of them were sitting quietly on logs and stones, staring into a fire Miranda had made. This gave Lloyd yet _more _time to think.

There was something about the Winglies who attacked Deningrad…

Bardel he understood; the man had been just like his older brother of the same name. Kianako - though the Wingly seemed only somewhat misguided - was not a surprise. It was the woman and Kyris that worried Lloyd.

By the brief time he'd seen her, and Kianako's description, she didn't seem the terrorist type. Her name had been Nyisann. She was apparently a fairly good person, according to Kianako; she'd lived in the Forest near Deningrad with Bardel and Kian, taking care of her ailing mother and working as a nurse. 

Then Kyris had come, fueling them on his persuasive words and telling them of a freedom to the Winglies. Kian hadn't been able to say where Kyris was from or who he was, but he'd easily won Bardel and him over, and Nya had followed for reasons of her own.

And in an attempt to save the people of Deningrad, Lloyd had killed her.

He gritted his teeth together in self-loathing. It was funny, some people never saw blood in their lives…

And even when his only desire was to check up on Wink before he died, he'd managed to kill two people. Was that all life had in store for him, to continue killing until there was nothing left for him to cling to? 

God, he'd tried, hadn't he? All he'd ever wanted was to help his people. Maybe be a father someday. Just simple things like that. In stead, fate had shoved the sword into his hands and set him loose.

It was sick. He'd lost absolutely everything.

What was he even doing? Following the humans and the terrorist Wingly around so that he could do what? Try and convince one of the humans who had not long ago taken it into his hands to try and kill Lloyd that there was a man loose who was killing people needlessly?

Something about this was so frighteningly familiar. A Wingly killing thousands after being told of a freedom to his people…and then another, more powerful Wingly wanting only to destroy humankind…

The more he thought about it, the more Lloyd disliked it. 

So now what? Would he fall prey to the role of the humans, to chase Kyris around until he had killed thousands or millions? Or was the terrorist Winglies plan more severe than that?

Lloyd lied back farther against the log he was sitting against and shut his eyes in thought.

Nyisann and Bardel's blood wouldn't be the only to spill into his unwilling hands.

Just a father, that's _all _he wanted to goddamn be! 

Even that was too little too late. He'd killed Lenus.

Fueled with rage, he hardly heard the sound of the bushes russling behind him, until his warrior instinct kicked off. He opened his eyes and listened intently.

There was silence for a long time, and then a stick snapped. He looked back behind him, and instantly him and Kianako leapt up from their sitting positions. 

A figure dressed in black was standing behind the stone Wink was sitting on. It was nearly invisible in the night, with a hood over its hair and a shawl pulled over its whole face but its dark eyes. Its arms were outstretched, and their was an unfamiliar type of sword in his hand, long, thin and jagged; the kind that took out organs. 

Wink luckily did not startle or jump up as the two Winglies leapt to their feet, but froze. She caught Lloyd's gaze and held it trustingly.

And at the same moment, the black figure paniced and grabbed Wink by the neck. 

"Don't move." Said a masculine voice. Wink shut her eyes tightly in pain.

"Put her down!" Kian snarled. "Now!"

The Black Man shook his head, and as Kian began edging forward, he squeezed harder on Wink's vulnerable neck. Wink gasped in pain and wide eyes once again grabbed hold of Lloyd's own. 

Lloyd hesitated. He wanted to attack the Black Man while he was vulnerable, but if Wink was stabbed…

He didn't move, hardly even breathing, and waited for the dark-garbed enemy to make his move. The man gave them a wicked grin and began to bring the strange sword up slowly. Mockingly slowly. 

As if being held back by some invisible force, the curving metallic blade came towards Wink, shimmering and hungering for blood.

 And then he jerked suddenly and fall over to the ground. Behind him, Miranda slowly lowered her fists with a savage glare.

Wink fell forward, coughing and gasping for air a few feet away from the Black Man. Lloyd rushed over fairly fell to his knees beside her, rubbing her back and staring into her thin, beautiful face worriedly. Once again, that had been too close.

"Are you alright?" Kian and Lloyd demanded as one. Wink coughed horesly and made a slight movement that resembled a nod. 

Lloyd waited until she was finished filling her lungs and helped her up. His gaze was fully on her in worry. And, conciquently, he didn't see as the Black assassin squirmed out of sword range, jumped to his feet and bolted.

Wink turned and chased after him almost instantly, and Lloyd chased after in surprise. 

The forest burst around them as they sprinted, furiously chasing the man who had nearly taken Wink's life. Trees and foliage flickered past, and leaves fluttered up from under three pairs of feet. 

However, the assassin was fast. No matter how fast Lloyd and Wink ran, it felt like he was a step ahead, and Lloyd was tiring, his energy all spent on the walk across Serdio and the exhaustion of worrying about the sudden attack. 

Minutes past in a sort of non-physical timelessness as Lloyd followed the surprisingly quick Sacred Sister. It was like time stopped working as all thought left the Winglies head with the familiarity of the chase. 

It all happened too fast for the minds comprehention. There was a whir of movement, and Wink made a sort of a sighing grunt of – not pain, more like anger. And then there was the blinding, sickening light that reminded Lloyd of something deep in his mind where he couldn't bring it up.

The Black Man had turned and struck Wink in desperation. And in reply…

The light was haunting sapphire blue, and it seemed to flow from her like mist. Then she made that weird noise, and it began to float towards the Black Man.

Lloyd took a step back in shock as a nauseating scream echoed through the night, hanging in the air for a long time before digging under the fingernails of all who heard it. And the assassins eyes began to bulge and roll back as the mist burned into his skin like acid. And then…

Lloyd had to turn away, but the horrific ripping noise followed him. Another gurgled, gut-twisting scream died into the moonlit night. 

Looking back in surprise, Lloyd just managed to see as Wink smiled viciously at the somehow still standing body of the very-dead Black Man and push it over with small, wicked laugh. The skin was almost all gone off it, though part of it was still bubbling against the bloody corpse.

Wink stood still a very long time, watching nothing at all. The overpowering tidal wave of rage had subsided, and now she was left floating in the shallows, bewildered and doe-eyed. Finally, she turned around and in a small voice said,

"I killed him."

Oh god. The look on Lloyd's thin, porceline face was one of a rush of emotions, and though anxiety hung in his flowing ruby eyes, there was a sort of shocked disbelief on his handsome features. He finally said, "Yea."

Though the weakest bit of the anger remained, pushing her to say a million awful things, she began to stutter, "I-I didn't mean to…I mean, I didn't do…er…"

"What _was_ that?" He demanded.

"I don't know." Wink replied in a small voice. "I didn't want to…" 

Lloyd walked over to her, put an arm warmly over her shoulders, and pulled her away from the carnage. "We'll talk about it later. Just try and forget it."

Wink so badly wanted to just let him pull her away. Anywhere. It didn't matter where. Just – away from it all. But some feeble part of her protested, "But I killed someone!"

The cold leather of one of Lloyd's gloves crept up to her face, and a elegant index finger brushed her thin lips. "Shhh…don't bother yourself now."

She exhaled, as if letting go of all her concerns, and nodded, somehow instantly forgetting the fleshless, gory corpse that lay in a small pile on the road.

They walked in silence for a very long time, and Wink enjoyed simply walking through the moonlit forest with Lloyd's arm slung over her shoulders, taking in the warmth of his presence and the calmness that overcame her. She struggled to free her mind from the image of the dead Black Man, and to cling to the beauty around her. She knew that the only way she'd be able to stand after a fall like this was to ignor it. 

After about five minutes, they realized that they had gone the wrong way by the small trickle of water that passed by, slithering down slippery rocks harmonically. 

"You should catch your breath." Lloyd suggested softly. Wink nodded wordlessly and sat on a moss-covered, fallen tree. It was a strange, hauntingly ghostlike plant that she'd never seen before with white, scaly bark that peeled off easily, revealing the silver wood underneath.

And with liquid fluidity, her face buried into her hands and she began to cry softly. It wasn't the hard, angsty sobs of someone who had – say - lost someone close to them, but more a sort of gentle, teary sigh as the suddenness of everything overwhelmed her.

She heard Lloyd sit beside her gracefully, and half expected him to interrupt or say something oh so smart like he always did. But he didn't do anything, just sat there politely, letting her let it out. She was oddly relieved, she just needed to cry.

Finally she stopped, and she lifted her head slowly, gazing straight ahead of her in shame. After an awkward moment that always follows tears, she muttered,

"I lost control. It's never happened before."

Lloyd said nothing, and feeling like she should say more, she added, "I got really angry at everything, and there was like this voice, fueling it and telling me all these bad things. It sounds crazy, but that's what it was like. I felt so mad at everything, I just had to break something. And then…oh god, he screamed so bad…"

A gaspy sob rippled in her chest, and a drop of moisture fell down along the side of her petite little nose.

And then Lloyd's gloved hand suddenly touched her face, pulling it towards him tenderly. Her heart pounded at the sudden subtleness of the movement as her head turned to face him, and then suddenly his lips brushed hers.

She shivered at the feel of his skin as he kissed her lightly. There was something about the movement that was shy and hesitant, and finding no other alternative, she kissed him back. 

As if settling the struggle going on in Lloyd's tortured mind, the kiss became more passionate. He closed his beautiful eyes and wrapped his arm around her neck, pulling her close to him. The feel was gentle but exhilarating.

And she realized that she had found him underneath all the pain he shrouded himself in.

A/N: Oooh, yay! Haha, Chapter six is up, soooooo sorry about the bit of a wait there, I was on a slight writers block. 

_Thank you for reading, chapter seven will be up ASAP._


	7. Arrival

On Sapphire Wings

Chapter 7

If Wink thought that she was overtaken by emotions, Lloyd was off the scale.

There was a long, extremely awkward pause, and then Lloyd stood up off the fallen ivory tree and, in a voice that was soft but somewhat concealed, said, "We should go back now."

Wink nodded speechlessly, and they began the trek back to camp. The silence once again swallowed everything, and this for some reason irritated Lloyd, as he was not used to trying to make conversation. He decided to keep his thoughts to himself as he walked on.

Soon they reached the camp, and with robotic monotony, Lloyd and Wink both sat down where they had been sitting before, saying nothing. They noticed that Miranda was not present, and Luanna explained that they'd sent her to bed because she was worrying too much. Wink nodded wordlessly and stared at things at random quietly. 

Luanna looked at Wink a moment, then sighed and busied herself with staring into the fire, and Kianako rolled his eyes and curled up in a blanket Luanna had given him before the Black Man's attack. Luanna waited a moment, and then quietly went into the tent Miranda had made for the two of them and Wink. Miranda had given off a strong feeling of aversion for the two Winglies, and had told them firmly to sleep under the stars. 

After one of those contagious long silences that cropped up so often after something bad happened, Kianako piped up.

"So – who was the guy in black?"

Lloyd looked at him, then back at the magnetic fire. "He was a Wingly."

Luanna and Wink both gave him surprised looks. "How do you know?" Wink asked.

"His structure was that of a Wingly." Lloyd paused. "What was left, anyway."

Kianako grinned viciously. "What happened?"

Without the slightest humour, Lloyd replied, "Wink flame broiled him."

Kian stared at him a very long time, and then at Wink, then back at Lloyd, then said, "Uh-_huh. _Right then."

And then it went quiet again.

Not long later, Wink excused herself and went to sleep. As soon as she was out of hearing range, Kian looked at Lloyd curiously and demanded in the Wingly Tongue,

"What happened?"

Despite everything, the smallest of smiles met Lloyd's face. "You're nosy today."

"Well, c'mon man. You can't be saying that you're always like this." Kian grinned.

"I kind of – confused Wink."

"You can explain better than _that." _Kian protested.

"She has never hurt anyone before, but she used magic to kill the assassin." Lloyd coughed and looked at the ground. "I tried to comfort her a little."

Kian gave him a funny look, then laughed gently. "Going bi-species, my man?"

"Don't act like you're my friend." Lloyd snapped. "It's not your business."

"Fine, be that way." Kian muttered dejectedly, pulling his blanket close to him despite the fire not far from his head. "I'm just trying to find out what happened, god."

"All you need to worry about is that the assassin was a Wingly, and he's gone now." Lloyd informed him, his voice returning to the normal rough, expressionless tone. "An accomplice of Kyris,' I figure."

"Dammit, hope he really burned good." Kianako growled.

Lloyd said nothing. Kian shook his head.

"You be careful, alright? This is some big stuff your sticking your nose into." Not waiting for a harsh reply, he closed his eyes and yawned. "Nighty night."

Lloyd stared at the dirt a long time, considering his words until sleep finally overtook him.

Her dreams were fitful and very hard to explain. She was on a cliff over the ocean, which was calm and hardly moving at all, it's blue serenity adding a feeling of lightness to her soul. About twenty feet away, right on the edge of the cliff was a figure, watching the blue-green water.

At first it looked like Lloyd, but as she approached, the features began to change, and when she looked into the face, it was a different person looking back at her. He looked a surprising amount like Lloyd, but his eyes were a murderous black and his face was full of anger.

She cried out and took a step back, and behind her the water roared up suddenly like a lunging animal. The man smiled gently, though the smile didn't reach his eyes, and said something in a voice full of death and pain.

"You'll pay." He said. "You'll pay for the pain you brought me for so long."

She hardly had time to wonder what he meant as suddenly Lloyd _was _there. He was glaring at the other Wingly, and he had a weird scar on his face like the one that had been on Bardel's, a diamond with a crescent in it. 

And then she saw that he was bound in metal shackles. It was weird, like every time she noticed something, something else appeared, as was the manner of dreams.

The black-eyed Wingly walked over to Lloyd and without any sign on his face, he dug a knife deep into his gut.

Albert hardly slept at all, and the only consolation for him was that he couldn't be a victim to the nightmares Meru was constantly complaining about. 

But for that matter, most people who'd heard about Deningrad didn't sleep, or had horrible nightvisions of death and tears.

Emille knew that it was bad on her husband. His eyes were half-closed and he tended to stare off into space quite often. He seemed to quite often take things like this straight to heart, especially when it involved his friends.

It was a few days later, though how many, she wasn't sure, when suddenly Meru came speeding through the castle, her eyes wide and her voice excited.

"Miranda's here! Albert albert albert albert!"

Albert started in his seat in the throne room as Meru burst through the door, Guaraha hot on her heels.

"What?" Albert asked drowsily.

"Miranda's here! And so're Luanna and Wink and…" Meru looked at the floor and muttered a name.

"Who?" Albert gave her a suspicious look, now fully alert.

"Lloyd…" She stuttered. "And some other guy."

Albert leapt to his feet, and Emille, Meru and Guaraha followed excitedly. They had nearly reached the end of the castle when they found Miranda, who was trudging forward with the normal deep glare on her face.

"Albert!" She smiled lightly.

"Miranda, are you alright?" Albert asked. The two of them exchanged a friendly hug, formality forgotten.

She nodded. "I'm okay, but those damn Winglies killed Theresa and Seti, and every damn well other person in Deningrad."

"I heard. What were the losses."

Miranda shrugged. "How about gigantic? We found nine living citizens, plus us guys."

Meru was looking past her quizzically, and then suddenly cried, "Kian?"

"Meru?" Asked a Wingly behind Miranda, rushing over to Emille and Albert's young Wingly friend. The human language forgotten, they launched into a long conversation in the Wingly language, with Guaraha adding in every once in awhile.

Emille felt a shiver go down her spine at the sight of the Wingly standing beside Wink quietly, having never seen him but knowing him anyway. He caught her eye on him, and looked away nervously.

"He was one of the attackers." Miranda was saying to Albert as Emille's mind settled back on that conversation. "But he got tricked by some guy named Kyris, and had some second thoughts thing going on, so we decided he would help us finding Kyris, who was their leader."

"I see. I'm guessing his name is Kian?" Albert asked.

"Kianako." Luanna nodded. 

Out of the corner of her eye, Emille saw Wink walking a little closer to Albert and the Sacred Sisters, and Lloyd was sauntering anxiously over to the Winglies, who were still talking hurriedly. Emille couldn't help but watch him, he made her very nervous.

Meru and Guaraha looked up at him curiously, and Meru said something with an expression of obvious confusion. He spoke for a long moment, and Emille was surprised at how – sturdy his voice was, but how at the same time elegant and treacherous. She almost shivered again, trying not to remember the night that she'd been attacked in the forest in Tiberoa.

Her attention again returned to where Wink, Luanna, and Miranda were explaining the horrific events that happened in the last little while. Wink was currently talking about having helped Lloyd when she found him blind in the forest, and Miranda's face was one of strong anger, as apparently she had not yet been told this story, or maybe she was just still angered by it.

It was hard to guess which really.

Lloyd had picked up that Kianako, Meru, and the other man whom seemed to be named Guaraha had all came from the same place, and they'd had been friends before Kian left the village with Nyissan - who both Winglies were sad to hear had died. After Kianako had explained what had happened up until they reached the castle, Meru began to explain what she'd been doing lately.

"We heard that Albert, who's the…" She stumbled for a word for king. "Leader of this place, was giving refuge to Serdian Winglies, right? So we said we'd come and help. We went around near the Volcano and found a big tribe of hidden Winglies, who were happy to come and build some homes here in Bale, and then we looked around the coast and found a really small little cult of 'em way down south…"

Without any hesitation, Lloyd demanded. "Are they here?"

Meru looked at him a moment, and said. "Yeah. They're resting. There's only a few of 'em, they'd mostly died off from something – monsters or something."

"Where are they now?" Lloyd asked again. 

"They're in the infirmary." Meru gave him another funny look and said. "You know them?"

Lloyd nodded a little. "I used to – uh – live there…when I was a kid."

Guaraha nudged Meru in the ribs, and she looked at him a moment before say. "Oh yeah! One of the kids here was named Artewa, you know her? She said she was…"

"Lenus' sister." Lloyd said in unison with her. "I'm glad she's alright."

Meru smiled gently, and Lloyd rebounded with a blank stare much like hers.

"I'm sorry." She said. "It just sounds kinda weird…coming from you, you know?"

Lloyd nodded and said nothing.

"I didn't mean anything rude! I'm just saying, you never really seemed the family sorta guy, you know? Not that I really know you great, but the times I saw you, you were all, world collapse and that kinda stuff and…" She bit her lip. "I'll shut up now."

"Good idea." Kianako grinned. "Touchy stuff."

"No doubt. Wow, it's all quiet suddenly…"

Kianako leaned over with a big grin and muttered in her ear. "Not as bad as the other night when he was all smooching with blondie in the forest…"

Lloyd grabbed him playfully by the neck. "Shut up!"

Meru and Guaraha laughed, and Meru said, "Miranda? I didn't know she felt that way…"

Kian's grin spread. "Nope, guess again."

Meru's own smile grew wider into a big dopey smirk. "Oooh, bad boy!"

It'd been a long time since Lloyd had felt humiliated, and he cheriched it more than most would. Something, a sort of weight, fell off his shoulders. "Thanks Kian." He said sarcastically.

"Don't mention it." Kian beamed.

Guaraha shook his head.

"So, what's happening here?" Meru asked, looking over at the group of humans to illistrate her question.

"I'm not sure." Kian murmured. "I guess we wait for your buddy to tell us what to do."

"Guess so." 

They paused as the humans continued talking, and then Albert turned to them and asked, "Do you guys want anything?"

Lloyd shut his mouth and looked over at Meru, the appointed leader. A sadistic anxiety hung in the air, a tention sharper than a blade and more vicious than poison. 

Besides, he wasn't much of a leader. He preferred to do things on his own, or otherwise just follow orders. It hardly mattered to him.

"Um, these guys want to see the Coastal guys." Meru said. She was very good at the human language, Lloyd observed, much better than him at least.

Albert paused in thought then said. "Alright, can you bring them there Meru?"

Meru nodded, and returning to her native language, said, "C'mon."

Guaraha, Kian and Lloyd followed her through the castle wordlessly. It was weird to be back at the place after working there so long ago, like every corner had a memory, but none of them were his. He sighed and followed, trying not notice that this was where he started the war that killed hundreds.

A/N: Ick, I don't like that chapter, it was WAY to sappy x.x 

_Oh well, hope you liked it anyway, I'll have the next up soon. And please, don't tell me about the horrific OOCing on the characters here, I already know. _

_On a happier note, Merry Christmas!_


	8. Tensious Reunion

On Sapphire Wings

Chapter Eight 

_ "It's not funny._

_We're not laughing like we did before._

_It's not funny._

_It's just hurting more and more…_

_Take your time to figure out,_

_It's not that plain to see._

_If you need someone to blame._

_You can blame it all on me…"_

There are some people that never change. Some people never seem to age, some keep the same personality over very long periods of time, and some just stay the same as always no matter what ordeals they go through.

Lloyd vaguely remembered that his mother had been that sort of person before she died. He'd grown up somewhat quicker than the others his age, but she'd always looked exactly the same. 

Artewa _had _changed, but not in the right way. When he'd known her before, she'd always looked, well, like Artewa. Now, she seemed to simply be a younger version of her sister. And not just a little.

Except for her angry eyes. As far as he knew, Artewa _never _got angry, and the effect was easy to imagine. Burning green jewels cast there glowing flame up at him, and on her small, innocent face, it was like staring into an abyss. 

"They say my sister died." She said. Every syllable was very carefully pronounced and each word seemed to glitter with poison. "She got sliced up by some guy named Dart, because he thought she was evil…"

Lloyd shook his head, and while unconsciously scratching at a black tattoo on his shoulder, said: "It was my fault."

"I didn't doubt that." Artewa growled. All around them, Winglies were bustling about, but they were respectfully ignoring the two's conversation. Just as well. "I was surprised to hear that she died alone though."

"That's a lie."Lloyd hissed. "I was there, I tried to save her, Artewa. You know I wouldn't leave her."

The girl, so young but seeming so aged by her fury, sat down on the side of a bed and looked up at him, and then said, "Then what happened?"

"It's a long story." The statement was pointless, he knew she wouldn't mind a long story just as much as he knew he wouldn't tell her the whole thing anyways. "She got dragged into something I shouldn't have even informed her about, and then I got cocky and figured she would be alright holding Dart back a moment."

 She listened intently, some of the blaze in the jade fire eyes fading into a smoldering ash. 

"When I finally got back to her, it was too late. She was too far over the Line."

"Why didn't you stay with her?" The voice had no malice in it, only genuine curiosity. Lloyd felt a wave of affection; he'd known Artewa since she was a baby and he had hoped she would believe him.

"I made a bad judgement and placed my ideals over her right at the wrong time."

"How?"

He shook his head. "I figured she'd be alright."

Artewa looked at the floor awhile, then said, "Oh."

"I'm sorry Artewa."

She just nodded. 

Lloyd had lived in the coastal village called Hisara for a long time. During his teenage years, he had taken up the identity of the mercenary Rowan and had been away from home a lot, but once this small profession proved fruitless and far too dangerous, he returned home. His parents had moved away into the mountains to study plantlife, and he and Lenus lived together. 

It was not long after that Lenus's mother had had her third child, though the first, Lenus's brother, had died. When Lenus and Artewa's parents were both killed by a monster two years later, Artewa had became both a little sister and a daughter to Lloyd, and the fact that neither was true never interfered. He and Lenus had raised her up to the best of their ability.

She had still been a little girl when Melbu Frahma passed by the village, disguised as the human, Diaz. Coincedance, or maybe fate, had led Lloyd and Lenus out to investigate, but it was not coincedance that brought the two of them back home only long enough to get Artewa somewhere safe and to get supplies before they followed the Wingly masquerading as a man to the lands of the humans. After that, Lloyd only saw Artewa once on a short visit home. 

It was when he came home that Lloyd found that his parent's had been killed. Friends said it was by someone who had lived up in the mountains too, though Lloyd never found out who.

His hand instinctively went up to his last momento of his parents, a small stone pendant with many small carved stars decorating it's front, and small Wingly ruins on the back.

"Has the castle been comfortable enough for you?" Lloyd asked Artewa.  

She shrugged. "Not bad. I don't understand much of the human tongue, just the little bit that you and Lenus taught me, but everyone's really nice, and that Meru girl has been helping me get by."

"That's good." Lloyd said. "What has – what was his name? – Curakan decided on doing?"

"The Humanleader, Albert, said that we could build some houses here, so I guess that's the plan."

"Is that what you want?" 

Artewa looked up at him, surprised. "I forgot how good you were at doing that. No, it's not what I want. But that doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. What do _you _want?"

Artewa looked at him again, trying to read his thoughts. With an internal smile, he realized he'd taught her to do it; he had always been the kinda person who liked to know what cards were in another persons deck. And she was right, he was good at it. "I don't know what I want. I want to know who it was that killed the people in Deningrad…"

This time, Lloyd was confused. "How did you know about that."

"I heard Meru and Albert talking about it. If some dumb guys are gonna go and break the peace with the humans, I want to be able to say, 'I helped try and stop them,' you know?"

Something digested in Lloyd's brain. It had been a long time since he'd last seen his adoptive sister, and she'd matured amazingly. Most Winglies aged strangely, but never like this. 

It also occurred to him that she was now a young teenager, not the little girl he remembered her as. She was capable of things he hadn't expected.

Lloyd looked up as there was the clack of steel boots in the hallways, and an armor-clad guard ran in, his face urgent. He looked around a moment, then walked over to him.

"Are you Lloyd?" He asked.

Lloyd nodded, and he said, "His majesty Albert requests your presence, and your Wingly companions. It's urgent."

As the guard rushed off, Lloyd shook his head to Artewa. "I gotta go Ari. I'll be back later."

She looked ready to protest, but shrugged and said, "Okay."

Unsure of exactly what 'urgent' identified as by ways of emergencies, he walked over to Meru, Guaraha and Kianako and said, "Albert wants us."

"Why?" Meru asked. "I didn't think he'd cut us short like that."

"I think it's pretty important."

She nodded. "Alright, let's go."

Wink was shocked.

The two figures that stumbled into the castle were of course very familiar to her, but both were covered in dirt and injuries, and it somehow – unpurified her memory of them. She was sure something bad had happened.

"Dart!"

"Shana!"

The two of them smiled, and Dart muttered, "Hey, everyones here…"

"Are you alright?" Albert asked, putting a supporting hand on his friends shoulder. Dart shrugged.

"Seles is in trouble."

"What!?" Miranda exploded. "What happened?"

"Somebody came to Seles and torched it. It was still a mess from when Fruegel raided it, and we didn't stand a chance." Dart sighed and backed over to a wall which he leaned on heavily, panting under his breath like a dog. "The population was already so reduced too…now nobody's left…"

A dangerous signal went of in Wink's mind, and she slowly asked, "Who attacked it?"

Dart looked up at her funny and said. "A Wingly. It was right after I got the message about Deningrad. I think he might have had some relation to…"

Just as the words began to leave his lips, Meru and the other Winglies ran up, all with worried expressions on their faces. 

Dart raised an eyebrow and finished, "…Lloyd…"

There was a long, scary moment where the current and old Divine Dragoons looked each other down, and neither said anything. Finally, Albert sighed.

"He and his companion came with Wink, Miranda and Luanna." He explained. He nodded his head to Kian. "His name is Kianako, and there is no point in introducing Lloyd."

"Pleasure." Dart said to Kianako, and though his face moved towards the receiver of his words, his deep eyes never left his ex-adversaries face. 

"We have some explaining to do." Luanna said finally. "Multiple stories have to be brought explained, and if I may, this isn't the place for it."

"Yes." Albert said, and his eyes went softly onto Dart in a look that said, _Stay quiet now, we'll talk later._

**

"Maybe this time, I'm finally losing my mind.

_Cuz I could use the change…"_

_**_

It took a half hour to get all the stories out, and as soon as everyone had been clued in, Miranda, Luanna and Emille took Shana to another room to rest. Albert and Dart had gone off a distance to talk about strategies, and Wink and the winglies got the message that it was a good time to leave.

"You can meet my sister if you'd like." Lloyd told her indifferently. "If you have no where else to go."

Wink nodded and followed the four silver haired individuals out. As soon as they'd left, Dart closed his eyes in frustration and said,

"I don't like this situation."

"No one does." Albert replied softly. "But we have to stay open-minded. We don't have many other options."

"You want to know what I think, Albert?" The sandy-haired king of Serdio nodded, and Dart continued with a growl in his voice. "I think we have a terrorist on our hands with an amazing control over magic. After what I saw in Seles, there's only one wingly who could match that kind of magic, and guess what? He's here right now, waiting for one of us to be vulnerable enough so that he can attack 'em without getting seen."

"Dart, there's nothing I can do about…" 

Dart made a fist with his gloved hand and struck the wall angrily, his torquise eyes burning. "I know, dammit! But it's so stupid, we have on our side, what? Me, you, Shana, Miranda and Meru, and then what? Two wingly terrorists, one wingly who's never fought anyone in his life, two Sacred Sisters that are incapable of battle, and Emille. That's bull!"

Albert reacted fast. With a swift blur of jade, he drew himself regally up in front of Dart, and his voice reached a dangerous tone, the one saved only for when he was trying to hide his anger and remain kingly. Dart was startled quiet, and listened with awe at the voice that the country worshipped. "Dart, I dislike this as much, if not more, than you. My best friend since childhood died slowly on that winglies blade, but I am willing to take his offer of alliance, simply because he may be the only person who can stand up to whoever this killer is." The voice became darker, if possible, and lost all formality. "I would like more than anyone to kill him where he stands, but I won't. And do you know why, Dart? Because in the end, he's just a person like us. He's got jerked around and he doesn't really know who he is anymore, but in the end, he's just walking the path, just like everyone else."

Dart didn't say anything. Maybe it was the rich sincerity of the words, or the fact that, behind the fancy volcabulary and intellectual formality, Albert had a side of him that was just a crude, angry and vengeful as everyone else. Just walking the path, as he'd said. And there was somehow much more humanity behind that barbaric humanness of the king of Serdio, though it was intimidating; something not often assosciated with Albert J. Dashiara of Bale.

Albert slowly leaned against the wall and shut his eyes. "I'm tired of this. I wish we could spend just a _little_ time without having to watch everyone around us die. I know Kyris is going to attack Bale – it's the most wealthy kingdom in the world, especially with the union of Tiberoa and Serdio. Where better to draw human blood from? But he has some angle that I can't place…I think he's trying to either attack places that are vulnerable and rich in human population, or he's trying to get rid of all my allies."

"Why human blood?" Dart asked.

"There's any number of reasons. Perhaps he holds a grudge with the humans? Maybe he was in league with Melbu Frahma, and wants revenge for his defeat? It's even possible that he is just randomly killing; he didn't mind letting two of his companions die, and he also didn't mind Lloyd being present at the destruction of Deningrad. It's very difficult to ascertain exactly what he wants, being as we don't know where he's from, what his motives are, or what he'll do next."

Dart shook his head. "Who do you think comes next."

"I think Tiberoa." Albert said solemnly. "And I want less then anything for Emille's family and country to be in danger."

Dart waited for him to continue, and after a long pause, his friend supplied his meaning, "I think we need to go to Tiberoa before it's too late. But something bothers me. Kianako said that Kyris used a stone to destroy deningrad, and though he knew very little about it, he _did _know that it only worked when the girl, Nyisann, activated it. So why did he let her die so quickly?"

"Your right…" Dart's eyes widened. "He must have another weapon to use against us."

"It was simply a wingly fireball that started Seles' burning, correct?"

Dart nodded.

"Then he doesn't have anything besides his own magic right now. But I doubt that he is going to continue this without some sort of higher magic. What do you think is special about this Nyisann? She obviously had some power over the jewel, but why only her?"

"Well, whatever the answer is, we have to get rid of Kyris right away. We'll see what he has in store for us when we get there."

"Kyris is not Lloyd. He knows who we are, and he knows that we will retaliate to his attacks. However, we don't know what he _wants. _It was easy with Lloyd, but this is totally different. Yet, it's almost familiar…" Albert smiled viciously, another thing Dart had never seen him do before. "However, this time we won't let him get away. We're going to give him no time to regret what he's done, though he will once we're done with him."

**

A/N: FINALLY!! YAY!! {celebrates. Confetti flies} I'm SOOOO sorry everyone, my computer had to be reset, and I lost most of my Word documents. However, I'm back and I'm gonna be doing some major updating lots, just cuz I'm so sorry. Sorry sorry sorry sorry…ect ect…

_Also, I swear that this boring part in the story will pass, I'm basically getting everything set up right now. Next chapter will involve blood (yay for Aerena ^_____^ Lol, just kidding.)_

_Oh, and since it was so poorly done, the double stars halfway through the story are just there to separate the lyrics from the story (PS: I thought those lyrics were pretty funny for Albert, who seems to be pretty stressed in this chappy.) _

_Okay, I think I have some questions to answer too, so I might as well now._

_1) **Striker:** Despite the amazing resemblance I wish I hadn't made, the jewel Shishai created that Nyisann used was NOT a dragoon spirit. When I called her a Wingly Dragoon, I'd forgotten that dragons are dead for a dragoon spirit to be made. However, it was said that she hadn't _used_ the dragons, like dragoons do, but had befriended and mastered it, so I suppose it's possible that it willingly became the dragon spirit required. I dunno. I'll go into better detail later on in the story, so try not to think of it as a Kikaiyu brainfart, but a well thought out plotline. Please? Well, it was worth a try._

_2) **SorsX:** Ya, I meant the "ride in the forest" as the switch between Emille and Lenus._

_I apologize for the lateness and the ultra long A/N, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter anyways. LOVE YOU ALL!! {hugs for all}_


	9. Desperate Times, Part one

_On Sapphire Wings_

Chapter 9

_Nothings quite the same now._

_I just say your name now._

_But it's not so bad._

_You're only the best I ever had._

_You don't want me back._

_You're just the best I ever had._

_So you stole my world._

_Now I'm just a phoney._

_Remembering the girl,_

_Leaves me down and lonely..._

**

In many ways, Winglies and Humans were complete opposites. In fact, the amazing differences between the two races were probably what started the Dragon Campaign. However, there _were _a few similarities.

One of which was the stubbornness of a teenager, as Lloyd had learned somewhat quickly.

"I'm _not _staying here!" Artewa shouted in a tone somewhere between anger and dejection. Her crystal-coloured eyes glared up at her foster father rebelliously.

"Ari, it's too dangerous out there." Lloyd replied in the firmest voice he could muster.

Another amazing similarity is that if you tell either race what's best for them, they always want the opposite.

"I can handle it! C'mon, I'm not gonna let you all get butchered out there!" Artewa snorted. "I'm not just a stupid little girl."

"No, but you _are _young and inexperienced." 

"Bullshit! Are you aware that half of the wingly fighters in the Dragon Campaign were below adulthood?"

Lloyd froze. Giving him a funny look, she asked, "What?"

"You sound like your sister."

"Oh." She sighed. "This is weird. But Lloyd, come on, what have you got to lose? Let me come, and if you won't even let me fight, at least let me _be _there."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because you're all I have left."

"Then why do want to leave me here?"

Once again, words fled from Lloyd mouth, leaving him simply staring. 

"Answer me!" 

"What if you get hurt? I'm not going to lose your sister, then turn around and lose you too." He muttered. 

"Then protect me. Don't let me get hurt." She looked darkly at him, and her emotionful eyes fixed on him. "But don't restrict me. Do you know how many years I've spent lying awake at night wishing that I could be with you and my sister?"

Lloyd looked at the floor, wishing that it could somehow tell him what to do. He wondered if this was what parenting was about? Finally, he closed his eyes in defeat and said. "Promise me you'll be careful."

"Really?" She leapt forward with astounding grace and hugged him in delight. He smiled lightly.

"Yeah."

Like with Lenus, he just couldn't say no.

The night was a fitful one all around the castle, full of nightmares and disturbing visions. 

As she slept, Wink thrashed and muttered in her bed as if possessed by a demon. The visions were too terrible.

It was like a continuation of her earlier dream in the forests of Serdio. She was just suddenly standing back on the clifface, and before she had time to get her bearings, blood splattered on the ground in front of her feet.

Kyris took a step back to inspect his work, and smiled. It was the smile of a man that had nothing left but a need to make others suffer. 

Lloyd dropped to his knees clutching his gut, and his eyes closed as he fought down his agony. Even in her dream, Wink knew that there was _far _too much blood. 

She rushed over to him, but suddenly it was not Lloyd, but the assassin from the forest on the ground. And then the screams that she had tried to bury in her mind began. As he had before in real life, the Black Man began to burn as if doused in acid. Wink tried to turn away, but she couldn't move. Couldn't escape.

Couldn't even scream.

And the figure once again changed, and it was Miranda there now. She was covered in bruises and deep gashes that caused Wink to want to eject the contents of her stomach. And the dragoon was coughing hard. 

Kyris seemed to notice the change, and with a growl he kicked Miranda hard in the side. The blond woman fell onto the ground and began coughing. Then she was choking, and though Wink desperately tried to help her, her body would not obey. 

Slowly, Miranda began to shift in shape once again, slowly becoming other people Wink loved, some living and some dead.

As Kyris stood watching the torture with laughter, the shifting victim began to crawl back to its knees weakly, screaming and coughing and gasping as it went. 

Then it was Lloyd again, the blood running down his waist and falling onto the ground in pools. 

And though throughout the whole dream, no one but Kyris had seemed to notice her, Lloyd looked up at Wink and said, 

"Help me…"

"I can't…" Wink tried to call back, but all of the sudden she couldn't, as if she'd forgotten how to speak.

Kyris grabbed Lloyd by the throat and hauled him up viciously. With his other hand, he slashed along his bicep, drawing a long red line, which slowly bled, down his arm. Lloyd tried to struggle away from his grasp, and finally escaped the death hold. 

Suddenly the knife in Kyris' hand was a sword, and Wink recognized it as the Dragon Buster, spiked and fiery.

Kyris held it up with both hands, and then brought it forward.

The sound it made as it slid through Lloyd's chest was too horrible for words. Instead of stabbing, it pierced all the way through, a wound no man or wingly could survive.

Lloyd lurched slightly and then fell backwards onto his back as the sword was yanked back out of his flesh. He began to cough, and blood flowed onto his thin lips.

Without out taking the time to acknowledge that she was able to move again, Wink bent over and began to puke violently, amplified by the liquid choking of her friend in the background.

Finally she stopped, and she stood slowly. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she took her limited control as an opportunity, and she began to run to Lloyd's side.

However, Kyris was there first. He kicked her aside, and once again dragged Lloyd to his feet. The injured wingly's eyes were half closed and a small stream of blood dripped down his chin. 

The sword became a knife again, as if Kyris was carefully selecting weapons for the most sadistic result. 

Lloyd looked at it, too weak to resist, and Kyris brought it up to his right eye and plunged it in.

As if the vision had been too much for her, Wink awoke with a violent gasp that she would have sworn would have woken the dead. She sat there shivering a long time with her wide eyes watching the wall, not trusting herself to sleep again. And so she lay for a long time until sleep crept up and stole her away again.

At the same time, Lloyd was also having a dream, but for some reason it didn't show an illusion, but a memory instead.

He was in his home in Hisara, and facing opposite to him was Lenus. Her face was grim and hard-set, and in a low voice nearly a whisper, she said,

"You're really going to leave, aren't you?"

And at that moment, there seemed to be two of him. One was watching the proceedings with sad eyes, remembering everything as it happened, and the other was simply a manifestation of the dream and his memory. Despite how much he desired it, this version of Lloyd could not be controlled. Its choices had already been made.

"I have to. The human may have the answers to how to bring the winglies back, and I can't just let that go."

"Someone else can help that sonuva cow!" Lenus cried angrily. As he watched, Present-day Lloyd felt a deep jerk of sorrow overtake him. Even in the dream, his thoughts were clear as if it were day.

_I should have listened to her. If I had, none of this would be happening._

"How do you know that?" Lloyd asked as he picked up a blade sheath of the oak table in the middle of their dining room and began strapping it to his leather sling belt. "Who do you know who would care enough to bother?"

"It doesn't matter!" Lenus replied. "Don't pretend to be so self-righteous!"

"Lenus, I don't like it either. But stop and think about it. What if this actually _does _work? And even if it doesn't, I'll come right back, I promise."

_I was being so stupid…_

"But what about all you have _here?_" 

"It's not threatened, is it? I'll just be gone a little while."

"What if the human hurts you and you're by yourself?"

"I can defend myself."

_Yeah right._

Lenus exhaled in exasperation. "How long will you be gone?"

"A month or so."

_Like hell._

"What about me and Artewa?"

"You can wait that long, Lenus." 

_Why was I so sure?_

"So, you're saying you don't care?" Lenus demanded.

The dream-Lloyd flinched, and then shook his head. "What choice do I have?"

Lenus's eyes widened, and a heartbreaking look of betrayal crossed her face. "So you don't care at all then?"

Oh god… 

"Of course I do." Lloyd tried, but the words were lost as a fierce expression of rage swallowed the sadness from Lenus' face.

"Lying bastard!" She cried. 

"Lenus…"

"Shuttap!"

"Lenus, you know I love you." Lloyd said gently.

"Then why do you want to leave me here?"

As he relived the moment that quite possible was the beginning of all his pain, the dreamer felt his heart sink. He felt like dying.

In response, the Lloyd of the dream paused. "I'd never leave you."

The Wingly woman looked downwards with another gut-wrenching sigh and shook her head. "Make sure you're back soon, Lloyd. I can't live without you."

"I can't either."

Lloyd stepped forward and held his love close to him, and they both simply stood a moment, both knowing that the tasks ahead of them were not going to be as simple as he'd claimed.

The watcher felt his body tighten up with an intense longing that ate through him like a cancer. He wanted nothing more than to have Lenus here with him for real. How could he have lost her? 

She was everything to me… 

As the couple in the dream exchanged a long, amorous kiss, the dream slowly faded into a sort of darkness. But it was not long the darkness before awakening; it was more like a physical version of the pain in Lloyd's mind. Not a darkness but an absence of light.

He now had a body again, though he had no desire of it. He hated himself. 

A voice echoed through his head, and he squinted around through the shadow, trying to place it's owner.

"It's your fault she's gone…" 

"I know." Lloyd replied, calming slowly.

"It was fate that took her from you…but it's been proven that fate can be overruled…"

"What do you want?" The wingly snarled into the false darkness.

"I want you to suffer…"

"Why?"

"Because you are a killer…"

Lloyd said nothing, unable to deny it.

"…And you are going to fail again. Someone very close to you is going to die."

Lloyd barked out into the shadow, "Who?"

"You'll see…"

"Tell me!"

"You nearly lost this person once before. Now you're going to again…"

"Artewa."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps the human…Wink…or perhaps the people of your hometown? "

"How do I stop it?" Lloyd demanded frantically. 

"You can't. I will make sure of it. I will wait until you have no strength left, and then, when you're back is turned, I will make her scream for mercy!"

"Kyris?"

"Heh heh heh…even as we speak, the blond woman is suffering. Her dreams torment her, much as yours do to you."

"Leave her out of it!"

"Why do you care? Do you love this woman? Have you already replaced Lenus?"

"Shut up!"

"Be careful, Rowan. You never know what fate will bring…"

Lloyd tried to find some way to reach the speaker, but as the voice left, the dream began to end. 

Seven people left Bale the next morning, each one privately wondering what would happen next. Meru, Dart, Albert and Miranda - four of the Dragoons - had been obvious candidates for the dangerous journey to Tiberoa, and, to Lloyd's surprise, Albert had actually recommended that he come as well. After much discussion, Artewa and Wink had come too. Artewa was accepted due to her surprising sword skills, and Wink because no one felt safe leaving her at Indels Castle to be attacked by more assassins.

The five humans were given horses to ride from Albert's stables, and though they were offered to Meru, Lloyd and Ari, the three preferred to fly alongside instead, mostly because none of them were experienced or skilled at riding.

The pace was fast and desperate, and by nightfall, they were already on their way towards whatever time brought them.  

A/N: Gak, I hate my computer. 

On a more important topic, thank you for continuing to read my crappy little story, hehe. Yes, I realize that this chapter was supposed to be a more action chapter, but it was WAY too long, so I'm gonna do in two parts. The good news is, the next chapter SHOULD be put up pretty quick. Yay! ^_____^


	10. Desperate Times, Part two

On Sapphire Wings

_Chapter 10_

_On the road again._

_I can't wait to get on the road again! (^_^)_

**

Lloyd smiled absently to himself. 

It had been a long time since he'd flown with others of his kind. He felt happier in the air – like he was free. At least more free then walking. He wondered how humans managed that all the time.

Habit, he supposed.

Beside him, Meru and Artewa were chasing each other through the air, laughing and making idle threats like a couple of children. Lloyd chuckled as Meru tackled Artewa in midair, tickling her mercilessly.

Far below them, Miranda and Wink were watching in amusement, but Dart and Albert ignored them, deep in morbid thoughts. It mattered little to Lloyd, however. 

Perhaps it was because of the weather, or the simply atmosphere of the forested world. Even Lloyd himself was in a good mood, watching his Wingly friends flutter through the air like birds. 

He grunted as Meru was pushed into him, and Artewa giggled wickedly.

"Evil!" Meru cried at her.

As Lloyd was watching the proceedings, he nearly missed seeing the horses halt below him. Flying down slowly, he landed on the ground beside Wink and asked, "What's wrong?"

"We're being followed…" Miranda said for her. 

There was a moment of silence, and then Dart suddenly turned towards the tree line beside the path and raised his sword. "Come out!"

Silence, and then a familiar figure came dutifully out.

"Kian?" Meru demanded from behind Lloyd, startling him slightly, "What are you doing here?"

Kianako smiled grimly, and in the wingly language said, "I didn't want to sit around while Kyris was out there."

Meru translated, and there was a pause, and then Miranda asked, "Why would you think we'd let you come?"

"I didn't, but I came anyways." Meru translated again.

Dart smiled lightly. "Then there's no stoppin' ya. What do you think Albert?"

Albert shrugged. "I don't see why not. Welcome about Kian."

Kianako grinned. 

"I won't disappoint you. I gotta score to settle with our buddy Kyris!"

The next days past in a blur. Wink was not used to the monotony of travelling, and it seemed that everyone but her was fine with it, but she could not help being restless. Fortunately, Artewa was also having trouble adapting to the long silence of it, and the two of them spent most of the trip getting to know each other.

Wink learned a lot, not only about Artewa, but also about Lloyd and the Wingly culture. She learned that Lloyd and Lenus had raised Artewa, though she claimed that she never thought of Lloyd as a father, and more of a brother. She'd still been small when she was forced to live with a friend of Lenus's, but not too small to remember and long for her caretakers.

Artewa talked a lot about her adoptive parents, and Wink was surprised at how it put a strange new light on her perspective of the two. Apparently, Lenus, who Wink had only seen once, had been an emotional, hard-working woman who had been very clingy to her relatives and friends, and had had a bright sense of humour, and a fairly easy-going demeanour. And Lloyd had been very quiet, even shy, but fiercely protective. 

A fierce attack of longing awakened in Wink at this, but she struggled to ignore it, knowing that it would not help her to consider it. Even if Lloyd returned her feelings, he would likely not be able to recover from Lenus. And how could he love her? She was so meek in his glorious shadow, and she felt like dead weight as it was.

She blushed slightly as she thought of the night in the woods, and Artewa looked at her curiously.

"What?" 

"I – nothing." She smiled gently, shaking her head.

After a seeming eternity, the odd group reached the coast, and Albert hired a vessel to take them across the ocean with all speed possible. The trip across the sea was just as dull as walking, but at least she no longer had the aches and pains of riding horses all the time.

Finally, they reached Tiberoa, and a nervousness began to fester inside Wink as they rode across the fields, nearing the imperial capital. Her nerves felt like they were a cord, being pulled cruelly taught, and the shears were nearing slowly.

Suddenly, Albert, Dart and Miranda stopped, and with liquid precision, the four winglies floated eerily to the ground. Wink's eyes flickered nervously.

"What is it?" She asked. A couple times before, they'd had to stop to avoid a monster, but she didn't see anything, and that in itself worried her.

"I see someone…" Albert murmured, squinting into the blazing sunlight.

Wink followed his lead, and eventually spotted a small black dot on the horizon.

They waited until the figure came into focus, and Wink bit her lip in surprise.

It was a Tiberoan man. One eye was open wildly, and they other closed, and blood squirted out from the empty socket. His face was scarred and oozing liquid, and his clothing, once jaunty and colourful, were ripped and tattered. He ran towards them with terror covering his face, and pleading in his one honey-coloured eye.

"Omigod…" Wink sighed, and then, without thinking about, she brought her steed to a charge towards him, knowing that he was in desperate need of help.

"Wink!" She heard the cry from behind her, but ignored it, intent on what she was doing. She leaned forward, the whipping her hair in a maddened frenzy, and clung to the hair of her horse.

A sudden impact from behind her hit her in the shoulder, and suddenly she was in the air with muscled arms wrapped around her waist protectively. She looked back at Lloyd, then back down at the ground. 

There was a tense moment were nothing moved, and then a huge tendril reached seemingly out from the ground and, driving through the fleeing Tiberoan as though he didn't even exist, wrapped around the horse and crushed him, splashing blood and gore all over the dead grass of the plains. Wink made a small choking noise, and clung terrorfully to Lloyd's hands, unable to do anything else.

A huge beast rose slowly from the ground, and roared in rage. It was a terrible thing that struck a new kind of fear into Wink.

It looked like a gigantic worm, sandy yellow in colour, but it had eight long tendrils protruding from it's gut, four of which it stood on like legs, and the other four waving about, searching blindly for the human it had thought it had trapped.

And suddenly, the front of the thing opened up into a huge mouth, and eyelids that had seemed invisible before shot open, black and pupiless and completely devoid of mercy. Slowly, the maggotish creature's front seemed to appear, becoming a demonic face that was almost human seeming. It grinned through purple lips and called out.

"Human!" It cried, the words hardly distinguishable from the snarls of a beast. "Wharrr' oo? No hide 'rom Rachesis!"

It gazed left and right, seeming somehow unable to see Wink's companions in the distance, then chuckled bestially and looked up.

Wink felt Lloyd's chest heave out as he tensed, and she bit her lip, trying to stay silent as night-shaded eyes glared up at her. 

"Drrragonflyyy…" It said, and it sneered, revealing row upon row of jagged fangs.

"Hang onto my neck." The wingly whispered into Wink's hair breathlessly. "Don't move suddenly."

She did as he said, wiggling around until she was facing him, clinging to his neck and trying to stay as close to his as possible, as though doing so would somehow make the creature leave. 

The Serdian sword let out a steel cry as it was pulled from its sheath, and Wink saw her companion trying desperately to wield it past her. She tried to turn her head to see the worm, but only succeeded in straining her neck.

Lloyd sucked in a breath and began to dive down, sword first, towards the creature, and suddenly an amazing impact hit the two of them, and then the world disappeared as Wink shut her eyes instinctively.

They plummeted a moment, and then there was a jarring pain as they hit the grass; a sort of hardened lightning that shocked throughout her body, numbening her. 

Opening her eyes, she sat up shakily, and saw that Lloyd looking past her with pained, half-closed eyes.

"Fools! No rrrrun from Rachesis! No get awaaay…"

Wink turned slowly, and her mouth hung open as words failed her. The strange, anamorphous face of the beast, Rachesis, was stretched out right near her, the terror-inducing grin on its lips. "Masterrr kill-ed drrragonfly…now Rachesis kill!"

Wink screamed as one of the hand-less tendrils shot past her and wrapped around Lloyd's neck. His mouth opened and he made a dry coughing noise as he was jerked upwards.

"No!" Wink cried, and she cast about desperately. Her other companions were riding up as fast as they could, but it would not be fast enough. 

Seeing Lloyd's sword on the dirty ground, she picked it up, surprised by it's weight, and threw it clumsily, resulting in it simply spinning in the air and hitting the monster painlessly in the arm with the handle. It slowly began to fall, and then stopped suddenly.

Lloyd, who was beginning to look faint, held out one hand, and the blade quivered and moved towards him. Slowly it floated arcanely into his hand, and he had just closed his gloved fingers around it when Rachesis hissed in surprise, spotting it. He stared at it a moment, then a look of angry mirth crossed his face, and his tentacle tightened around Lloyd's neck. There was a crack, and Lloyd cried out weakly. His eyes rolled back halfway, and he went limp.

Rachesis smiled, and through him aside, where he hit the earth and didn't move. Then the beast looked about, searching for Wink. She froze, fearing to move lest it see her.

The head turned left then right slowly, and then it finally honed in on her.

"Human…" It smirked. "The drrrragonfly 'as weak. I bring you to him…"

Wink jumped aside as a tentacle flashed through the air, driving towards her. She dove to the dirt and then rolled aside as two more followed, and then suddenly she was lifted again, though the feel of her barer was unfamiliar. She looked back, and Kian smiled, though it was a preoccupied smile. "Hold on!" He shouted, and then flew sharply sideways as a tendril lashed out. Rachesis hissed, spraying saliva, and tried to slap the two out of the air, but he was too slow for the wild-eyed wingly who now opposed him. 

And then it reared up as a fireball hit it from behind, where Meru and Artewa faced it bravely. Kian, taking this advantage, shifted Wink's position and flew up higher. 

As he did so, the humans finally arrived, having had to leave the horses behind. Weapons flashed in the sunlight as the dragoons and Artewa began to attack feverishly.

Kian paused a moment, trying to remember the human language, then said, "You Lloyd get, yes? I have to fight."

Wink nodded in recognition, and he smiled and began to fly downwards towards Lloyd's lifeless form.

"Careful!" He said, putting her down gently, then he rose up, pulling his halberd from its straps on his back and flying towards the beast.

Wink bit her lip, and then hurriedly began to dig around in her pouch for a potion.

Albert licked bleeding lips and clutched onto the leather handhold of his lance tightly. The worm was very fast, but the six of them were beginning to draw violet blood from the creature.

He ducked the creatures salivating maw snapped down by his leg, and forced his weapon down on a passing tentacle, digging it in with the force of his weight. Even as he did, Kianako flew past his head, slashing the things shoulder with his halberd.

But the thing was not even slowed by it. It gazed around, bleeding and snarling, and searched for the easiest target.

"Fly-kin!" It cried out at Artewa, snatching her out of the air before she could dodge away. Albert tried to stab the thing in the stomach, but it bounced off Rachesis' tough hide.

"Damnit all!" He growled. He held his spear up high, and was about to drive it down again when a voice interrupted him.

"That won't work."

He turned slowly, and nearly walked into a man in a black and silver robe, the hood pulled down to reveal wingly features. The man had a sword held high, and before Albert could duck away, the blade began downwards.

Albert gasped as the sword slashed along his arm, and he dropped his spear, clutching it helplessly. The black wingly brought the blade up again, but something collided with his head and he fell to the ground.

Albert squinted as the figure stood in the sunlight, a makeshift wooden stave in its hands offensively. 

His rescuer was definitely female, and her long black hair reflected the sunlight in a violet sheen. She was tall and slender, and was dressed in dark indigo armour that was all too familiar.

Albert's eyes widened.

"Rose…"

_**_

A/N: Another Black Man? Rose? A big wormy? What could it all mean? 

Hehe, once again I must say I'm sorry I take so long to update, I hit writers block halfway through the making of this chapter. Fortunately, I think it's pretty good, and it will lead into a very…interesting…next chapter. And I swear I'm REALLY trying to get better about updating! X_X

PS: Yes, the lyrics were a joke. I couldn't think of any… ^_^


	11. Rachesis' Sacrifice

_On Sapphire Wings_

Chapter Eleven

"Dark is the light. 

_The man you fight._

_With all your prayers, incantations._

_Running away, a trivial day,_

_Of justice and deliverance._

_To whom was sold, this bounty soul._

_A gentile or a priest?"_

**

Wink's hands shook as she held the oily violet potion to Lloyd's lips, and she cursed her fear. She tried to focus her mind on what she had to do, but the was a gentle itching in her back where she was sure she was going to feel a razor-sharp tendril glide effortlessly through her and impale her. She wasn't used to the heat of battle, and she felt helpless.

Worse still, Lloyd wasn't awakening. The color had barely even returned to his face, no matter what potion Wink forced into him. And his chest wasn't moving. If he didn't start to breathe soon, he would be gone.

Wink glared into the sunlight and shook her head. No, she wouldn't let him die!

Thinking back to her training, she leaned over him and felt his wrist for a pulse, then bent close to him to insure that he wasn't breathing. Still nothing.

Without thinking, she locked her lips unto his and breathed into him, then went back to listening to a pulse, to no avail. She tried again, and still there was no result.

She briefly wondered if his windpipe had been crushed, but she shook the thoughts from her head quickly. 

She bent again and tried a final time. There was a long silence, and her heart fluttered in panic as she ticked away the seconds, and then a strange inhaling gasp brought a brilliant hope to her mind. Below her, Lloyd gave a nearly non-existant moan and she realized that her lips were still gently resting on his. Embarrassment washed over her, and backed away, a little too fast.

"What's happening?" He asked.

Wink blinked, and then said, "They're fighting the worm."

"It's not dead?" He started to get up. "Ah!"

"Are you alright?"

"Yes."

"Try and relax." Wink suggested, ignoring how ridiculous it sounded. "I'll make sure the worm doesn't come near us."

Lloyd looked at her a moment, then lay back and nodded, staring up at the sky with the thoughtful eyes of a warrior. Wink, ignoring all thoughts and feelings, turned her head to gaze once at the fighting going on. She shivered at the sight of the blood being drawn, and wiggled a little closer to her fallen comrade.

Confusion washed over Albert as he gazed up at the mystifying woman in black dragoons armour. She was not Rose, but a dark-skinned Tiberoan woman with slanted eyes that seemed both dark and incandescent, creamy and gleaming, and full of something higher than human minds could comprehend. 

Even if she _wasn't _Albert's old companion, the eyes were the same as he remembered them.

"Who are you?" Albert asked, better words failing him as they so rarely did.

"I'll explain later." She cried over the noise of the fight behind them. She reached out a hand to him to help him up, and the feel of her skin was like cold marble, but he took it anyway.

The two turned towards Rachesis, who was busily trying to pluck the winglies out of the sky while simultaneously batting Miranda and Dart away.

The Dark Dragoon gave Albert a quick look, then lifted into the air and dove towards Rachesis.

The worm turned, but it was too late.

Black magic surrounded the dragoon, and she held her arms to her chest, focusing the ebony force. Then she lashed out with a delicate hand and the dark energy surged towards Rachesis, tearing through his hide like water and then wrapping around him and constricting. He writhed in agony and collapsed to the ground, convulsing and moaning.

The dark woman approached it, and it laughed morbidly. "Drrragonmasta…"

"What do you want?"

"Da mens, they's bringing 'im back…" A growl. "But 'e will kill you…'e kill everyone – that is of Soa's command. Dey promise Rachesis blood, power over slave-humansss! Dey promises _freedom!_" 

"Who does?" The dragoons voice was soft and harsh at the same time, and Albert was chilled at how much it resembled Rose.

"Dere ist no freedom…dey's all lia's! All o' dem!" Rachesis growled again, low and mournful, and made a strange sound, like a sigh. "You need kills dem! Dey's at Rouge, dey's kill your friendsss!"

Albert walked up behind the mysterious woman, and Dart and Miranda did the same. Rachesis' body was beginning to shift strangely, and after an odd moment where the worms body seemed to break the barriers of reality, it was no longer a horrific monster, but a long, sinuous dragon that hardly seemed to reach the size of Albert's leg.

"What the hell?" Dart demanded. "It's a dragon…"

"What happened to you?" Wink asked gently from behind Albert. It looked at her, and its huge eyes fixed on her, pleading for her mercy. It's scales shimmered in the beating sun of the mid-coast, the light dancing off it's golden hue.

"Thhhe drrragonworshippers, they slaveses me, they tells me to keel you, then they turns me into a monsta..." It held her gaze, and muttered. "Keel me…"

Wink stood up from beside Lloyd, and walked over slowly, her eyebrows raised in pity. "Why?"

"I iss suffer…is a slave."

"We'll get you help!" 

The small creature shook its head, and then hissed. "I helps you…"

Then it began to glitter as a bright light surrounded it, brighter in colour then even its shining scales. The magic seemed to hang in the air like mist for a moment, then it began to fade even as Rachesis did.

A tiny golden orb took it's place.

"The Gold-Sun Dragon…" The Dark Dragoon observed in slight disbelief. "I thought it was a rumour…"

"Okay, we're gonna need some explaining." Dart muttered up at her. At the same time, Wink spoke up.

"Shakahna! You're alive!"

"I'm not Shakahna." The woman said as she radiated the arcane black light. "Shakahna is in Mayfil. I'm Rose."

Lloyd, unable to move, listened intently as he stared up at the sky. He regretted hearing that Shakahna was dead, but that wasn't the most important thought in his mind right now.

"Who's Shakahna?" He heard Meru ask.

"She's a friend of mine." Said Wink, sitting down beside Lloyd. He grunted as she put a hand to his back and carefully helped him up. "She was at Deningrad during the collapse."

"Yes. She was trapped under debris during the collapse." As Lloyd saw the woman, he realized that, though she wore the same clothing and looked the same as he remembered her in Deningrad, something about her eyes was different. They had a sort of harsh sadness now. She looked at Wink. "She tried to come after you when she saw you leave, but she only made it to the coast before her wounds were too much for her.

"However, just before she fell she found these on the shore." Rose held up two dragoon spirits, one black and one crimson. "When I – passed on – I still had a sort of linking to the spirit, and when it rolled onto her dead body, I was able to inhabit it."

"Like a ghost…" Kianako muttered.

"Yes." Rose nodded curtly. "I wouldn't have done something like that normally, but I knew that there was something wrong and that I would have to help you."

She looked over at Dart and handed him the Red-eyed Dragoon Spirit. "Zieg sends his regards."

Dart stared at the stone a moment, before putting it into his pocket.

"Unfortunately, what Rachesis said is true." Sorrow flashed across Rose's face. "Rouge Island was attacked."

Horror crossed the faces of the dragoons.

"Are Haschel and Kongol okay?" Miranda demanded.

"No. They were badly injured and may die soon. When I left Mayfil, they were nearly gone. We don't have much time left to help them."

They camped out at a small spring not far from where the encounter had taken place. All throughout the camp, faces were grim and full of nervous emotion, and not many words were said.

It was not long after the sun had set when Dart approached Lloyd where he sat apart from the others. His face was no longer full of the open resentment, and had a sort of defeated factor to it.

"Lloyd." He muttered. "I don't need this, and I want you to have it."

The wingly watched as Dart withdrew the Divine Dragon spirit and slowly gave it to him. As soon as the cold stone of the orb touched Lloyd's fingertips, the overcoming feelings of power, hostility and rage entered his brain, and the familiar muttering of the dragon stabbed into his thoughts. However, he no longer found it as enticing as he once had.

Dart watched him stare down at the object, and as soon as Lloyd looked up at him, he spoke, firm and serious. "Rose gave Wink Rachesis' spirit, and I don't want her to get hurt because of it, okay? If you have this, you might be able to protect her a little better."

Lloyd paused. "Why are you doing this?" He asked suspiciously.

"Don't think that I trust you." Dart said slowly. "But I know that she cares about you a lot, and I think that if you two both have dragons on you're side, you're more likely to be able to help us."

"…We'll try…"

There was a moment where the two of them stopped to think about it, and then Lloyd spoke, just as slowly and measured as Dart had.

"Does something about this seem familiar to you?"

"Yes." The man admitted. "I wondered if anyone else had noticed."

"I don't know how it will help or hinder us, but it's important we stay careful."

Dart looked at him a moment, then said. "I heard that Wink fried a person in the forests with some sort of magic?"

"Yes…"

"Blue?"

"Yeah."

The other man took a breath. "Shana did the same, just after I got her back from Hellena. And not long after that she got a dragoon spirit too…"

"What are you implying?" Lloyd asked.

"Shana's not the Moon Child anymore – but does that mean there isn't one? As long the virage embryo still exists, so does the Moon Child…"

"That's why you want me to watch over her?"

"Yeah." Dart scratched his neck absently. "I've been thinking about it a lot, and I don't want Wink to have the same trouble Shana did."

"I won't let her."

"Alright." Dart turned and walked away, towards his friends.

Lloyd folded his arms over his chest and stared up at the sky, wondering if a fate could really repeat itself.

And if it did, what would it do to Wink?

A/N: Short chappy, but it sure came out fast! Ya, kinda pointless. Oh well.

50 review milestone! Yay! And hey, Shakahna's back! Too bad she ended up dead, originally I wanted her to be like, the replacement dragoon for Rose, but everybody seemed to want Rose to be brought back, so I decided to make a compremise. Ya, I know, it kinda sucks, but I DID manage to bring Rose back without doing a ressurection fic! =$


	12. Sunlit on the Wind

On Sapphire Wings

_Chapter 12_

_Touch me._

_Take me to that other place…_

_Teach me._

_I know I'm not a hopeless case._

Dart couldn't help feeling relieved as Rose came and sat by the fire, blazing brightly through the silent night. Though he'd always tried to be a positive leader for his friends, Rose had always helped his decisions, and when she'd died, he'd no longer felt the courage of his convictions anymore.

However, any positive feelings caused a spear of guilt through Dart as he thought of Haschel and Kongol. How could he know if they weren't suffering?

Staring into the flickering light, he murmured under his breath. "Damn…"

"What?" Albert looked up at him, sharp eyes scanning his face.

"Sorry, thinking about Haschel and Kongol."

"Oh." Albert sighed, crossed his arms and sat back. "What's your verdict?"

"We need to check on them, make sure they're alright." Dart sighed, "But if we leave, Tiberoa might be attacked."

"Mmm."

"Kyris isn't going to wait for us." Rose said suddenly. "But he won't leave henchmen at Rouge."

"So, we should send someone up to Rouge?"

She shrugged, "Who could you send that would get there fast enough?"

Dart shook his head. "Meru?"

"We'll need her if we get in a fight."

"But she's the only wingly we can trust!"

Rose thought a moment, then her dark eyes turned over to Wink and Lloyd, who were talking a ways away. "Send them."

Dart gave her a pained look. "Why them?"

"Lloyd is a wingly, and perhaps one of the only ones who can take Kyris on by himself. And Wink is loyal to us, and she has healing abilities if they need it." Rose looked at Dart slowly. It was hard to adapt to her, looking at him through a different body but the same dark eyes. "Wink needs protection, and Lloyd needs a reason to stay loyal to us."

"…Alright. But I'm sending Kian too."

"Why?"

"Because he bugs me."

"Just relax." Lloyd spoke slowly, his voice soft and dark, and his eyes fully on Wink's face. The two circled slowly, both watching each other intently. "Let yourself go."

Wink took a breath and punched out at him, a move that he blocked easily, though through his face came no arrogance in his skill. She sighed and held up her hands in exasperation, and he smiled lightly, though his eyes remained locked and mirthless. 

Meru, who was sitting lazily in a tree with Kianako and Artewa watching the fight, translated his words for him as he gave her steady instructions. He had gotten her to do this because he was unsure of the words, and didn't want to give false information. Also, he knew that Meru wanted to help teach Wink how to fight.

"'Don't worry about hitting him.'" Meru told Wink. "He's been through worse, and you won't learn to fight if you don't learn how to hurt someone."

"I don't know about this." Wink muttered. "I have the talent of a stick."

"Haha! Don't worry, to this day, I still always manage to hit myself in the ass with my hammer, and look where I am!" Meru grinned. 

_"Torbrin gathr synx." _Lloyd said pointedly at Meru. He had known from the start that if Meru was going to help, it would involve a lot of her small talk, so for the whole lesson he'd had to remind her to do her job.

"Lloyd says to try a few quick punches." Meru told Wink.

Wink snorted, then brought her hands up and began to attempt to strike her opponent. Lloyd noted that she was still uneasy, and only one hit managed to hit him on the arm.

"He says that your still not hurting him." Meru muttered. "C'mon girl! Give 'im some bruises!"

"Okay…" 

She tried again, this time adding some kicks, but there was still the uneasy weakness in her attacks. Lloyd thought a moment, then decided to try a tactic he'd used on Artewa. He spoke up at Meru, and she began to laugh.

"Okay, he says to look over here, I'm gonna show you a technique!" Meru waved, and Wink turned back to look at her. Smiling gently, Lloyd waited until he was sure Wink was paying good attention to his 'training partner,' then gave her a firm push in the back. Turning, Wink pushed him back.

Lloyd, who know had an amused smirk on his face, grabbed her arm, pulled her close to him and pinned her arm behind her back. Wink, drawing on something – instinct or Rachesis' strength, elbowed him in the chest with her free arm. The air left him momentarily, and he laughed, a shy and scratchy sound that he hadn't heard in a long time.

"Is that what you want?" Wink asked. She laughed as the three winglies in the evergreen tree cheered her on.

"That will work." Lloyd nodded, and they both put up their hands at the same time, watching each other and ignoring the commotion made by there spectators.

_"Iodrasa vincat se yntoristis…" _He said slowly, and Wink listened as she waited for instruction, as if mesmerized by the words. _"Qeztai Npornin jir na ralvik sai…"_

Meru stared a moment before catching on. "He says he's gonna come atcha, so be careful." She didn't translate the last part, '_We'll force the dragon out of her.' _

Lloyd immediately took a swing at her, which she fended off then countered, hitting his unprotected shoulder. Then she kicked a shin, which he didn't bother to defend against, and struck at his gut. He let her hit him, concentrating on getting adrenaline through her. 

Slowly, she began to circle, occasionally pummeling at him. Lloyd was pleased to note that the strikes were becoming more and more fierce.

He blocked a lazy punch for his face, and in the process missed it as she kicked him below the rib. Being fairly unskilled as a fist fighter, Lloyd had no intuition telling him to keep his hands up, and he lowered a hand to the bruised wound, gasping.

Taking this opportunity, Wink sent a low kick to the back of his knee, and he fell to the ground.

She was immediately by his side, amid the persisting cheering from the winglies, her blue eyes worried. "Sorry! Are you okay? Ah, sorry sorry sorry…"

Lloyd shook his head with a smile and stood. "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"Good job Wink!" Meru called over. "Right in the leg!"

Standing and trying to ignor the pain in his knee, he conversed briefly with Meru, asking her if she could explain how to transform into a dragoon. Getting her affirmation, he watched Wink as Meru explained the process. Most of the words that the wingly girl spoke were foreign to him, so he simply waited.

Following Meru's cryptic advice, Wink took the dragon spirit from a pocket and watched it as it began to glow. The luminosity began to amplify until it blinded Lloyd. 

The armour was so golden it was nearly white. It wrapped dexterously around Wink's delicate body, allowing mobility, and added fair splendor to her already beautiful form, highlighting her striking body that she so modestly hid. 

The front was a strapless chestplate ending at her hips, and along her pale arms were gold-steel gloves that traveled up to her elbows. Twin steel bangles, adorned with sapphires, protected her biceps, and a decorative choker cosseted her neck. The armour hung down off her hips in a short metal skirt, and her boots came up to her ankles, then spiraled like ivy up her legs. Along her brow was a yellow headband, encrusted with precious gems.

And in her gloved hands was a staff. It was made of a wood with bark of shining white that seemed almost to resonate, and midway down the wood was a metal and leather grip, covered in ancient runes from many different cultures, and stones that had long since become extinct on the earth. At each end of the wood were knobs that looked like smooth, polished diamond. Protruding from the beautiful stone ends were long blades made of a metal that Lloyd had heard of only in legend, an alloy sharper than diamond and fiercer than fear.

From her back, long sinuous wings caught the air gently, and the sun shone down on the batlike silver flesh.

"Wow." Wink said in disbelief. "I did it…"

"Weird, huh?" Meru asked.

Wink nodded. Almost comically, she looked down and, seeing herself flying, paniced and did a double take. 

"It's okay, don't worry! You won't fall."

Wink laughed. "This's crazy. How long can I keep this up?"

"You'll get better the more you do it. When I'm fighting, I can keep it up for about fifteen minutes, but if you're just flying around, well, I can do it for hours, but I'm a wingly." Meru smiled. She looked over as Dart walked over, and saluted. "Ta da! We got Wink dragoonyfied!"

"Good job." Dart said absently. "Wink, do you mind if I get you to do something?"

"What is it?" Wink asked, trying uselessly to fly over to him.

"I need you to go to Rouge and make sure Haschel and Kongol are okay, alright?" 

"Uh, sure!" Wink grinned, a smug look on her face. Then, she slowly added, "Alone?"

Dart shook his head a jerked a finger to Lloyd and Kian. "You two are going too."

Lloyd nodded, and Kianako grinned, jumping down from the bough of the tree he was sitting on.

"Damn humans finally figured out my use!" He chuckled in the wingly language.

"Get going as soon as you can." Dart commanded. He turned to walk away, and suddenly Artewa's voice called out.

"What about me?" 

Dart turned and looked at her, "You want to go?"

Speaking slowly and unsteadily, Artewa said, "I want to stay with my brother."

"…Alright, but be careful."

"Hey, chill out Dart!" Meru barked. "She's tough!"

"I know Meru."

Meru glared at the impatience in his voice but said nothing.

After an hour of intense practise with the winglies, Wink had learned the basics of flight, and was ready to leave. The nights chill bit into her and seemed to inject her bones, but she knew that they would have to leave immediately, and the worry for the two in Rouge worked as a fuel to ward off the coldness and the fatigue.

Taking some of the supplies and a map, the four of them lifted into the sky, and began to fly North. Each was in there own type of silence, and it was obvious they were preparing for the enigma waiting at Rouge.

A/N: Okay, first off, I can't remember if it's Rouge or Rogue! -_- 

_Lol, also, does anyone know Rose's eye colour? I can't remember that either…_

_Aside from my mortality, sorry for the wait. I won't bore you with my excuse, cuz that's what I do every time, but I REALLY promise the next update shall be soon! Believe meeeee…_

_Oh, and excuse the HORRIBLE beginning and end to this chappy, I HATE it!   X(_


	13. The Second Genocide

On Sapphire Wings

_Chapter Thirteen_

Though Wink was normally a happy woman, there were few things in the world that could make her happier than sunrises. The strewn cascade of ginger, gold, crimson and rose seemed to lift her spirit, and she treasured the moment.

However, she had never felt so spiritually attached to the sky as she did on this certain shimmering morning. With her magical wings glowing in the rays, she soared over the earth, the morning light flourishing to her right.

The night had been long and the weather had been freezing to Wink's delicate skin, but despite it, it had been one of the most joyful times of her life. All through the dark night, the four airborne figures had kept each other awake and entertained, talking of everything that occurred to them. Kianako and Artewa had both spoke very broken English, but Lloyd had translated as well as he could, and it rarely was a problem.

Wink genuinely felt like she fit in.

"You like sunrises?"

The sudden addition of the low, gravelly voice at Wink's side sent a smile across her windburned face, and she nodded, looking over at Lloyd as he glided through the air. His silver hair whipped chaotically around his head, and his face was pink from the bite of the wind and dampened with sweat. "Yeah. Do you?"

He nodded. "It's better when you're flying."

"Yup." Wink turned her head to look over at the picturesque scene, squinting as the fiery red and orange began to fade into yellow.

"We did not have many sunrises in the forest." Kianako stated. He sounded somewhat strange to Wink when he spoke in the human language; the formal way he'd been taught seemed to contradict his voice and attitude. 

"We didn't get many either, but they were pretty." Artewa said.

"They shined on the ocean." Lloyd agreed, "I remember that."

There was a pause, and then he spoke again, his voice slow and carefully controlled to circumvent emotion. "On me and Lenus' last morning together, we were flying across the ocean. The first light shone right ahead of us." He looked down and then back up with sunken eyes, and his chest dipped in a sigh. "It was beautiful."

Wink felt her eyes widen in pity, and she bit the inside of her cheek uncomfortably. Lloyd's face had gone from thoughtful to angst-ridden, and his red eyes were full of a swirl of emotions as the sunlight shone on them, making them bleed in crimson luminosity. On his other side, Artewa seemed also to be struck by the words, though not in the same way. Only Kianako seemed to be oblivious to the sensation in the air.

And as she watched Lloyd's face carefully, Wink felt an icy bolt of guilt squeeze her gut. 

She envied Lenus.

How could she not? The woman had been so important to Lloyd, while Wink could be nothing to the man. Even now, during all that was going on in his life, he still froze at her name, and every mention of her sent him off in a self-loathing session of broading. Some violent part of Wink wanted him to long for her like he did for Lenus. 

However, how could she meet the standards that Lenus had set?

Suddenly, the core of Wink's depression for the last seeming eternity spilled across the tile flooring of her mind. 

She had never seen the wingly woman, but Lloyd had described her, and she'd gathered a fairly vivid mental picture. 

She had a voice like a songbird, and a smile that just made you glad you were alive. She'd probably had long, perfect hair – silver, like all winglies – and eyes like jewels. Her mind had been quicker than lightning, and she'd been sweet and funny and perfectly admirable by everyone who knew her. She'd probably had a large amount of sex appeal too; Wink hoped that _that _particular attribute didn't matter to much to Lloyd, but she knew that, to most men, it was a very important part, and Wink's stoic wingly companion _was _only 'human.'

Wink sighed. No, why would a man who'd had the perfect lover ever want someone like her? She had nothing to offer, and she knew it.

There was a sad silence that hung like fog, then Kianako cleared his throat and said something in Dryjian, the wingly common language. Lloyd and Artewa smiled.

"He said that we should try and be positive right now, because this is gonna be one of the only times in awhile when we don't have to deal with any annoying humans." Lloyd translated. Wink gave him an indignant look, and he laughed. "Not you. You're not annoying."

"Thank you." She smiled, rolling her eyes melodramatically. 

Lloyd laughed again, a sound that Wink had learned to desire and cherich, and the flight continued on.

Across the horizon, the sky was the only gentle observer.

Wink wasn't sure what she was expecting as they neared Rouge. Perhaps a tell-tale tendril of smoke, fluttering on the wind. Maybe fire, blood and gore. And possibly Kyris, smirking out at them through vengeful fiery eyes as an army of black-garbed men waited on his command.__

With her chest pounding and her stomach tight with anxiety, the last thing she expected was what she saw.

Nothing. From across a horizon, the small island looked untouched by time. In fact, it wasn't even until they were around one hundred feet away when Wink's heart sunk in terror.

Immobile, lifeless and silent, the scene before them spoke a story. A woman lay sprawled across the beach, bloodlessly pale with a knifewound across her back. In her outstretched arm was a tiny child's corpse. A trail of blood led across the sand away from her body, and reached a spot charred black by something. Beyond it was a large splash of now dried blood.

Though Wink stumbled across the soft sand as she landed, the three winglies landed without seeming to think about it, and immediately approached the body. Kianako was shaking his head, and Artewa seemed shocked.

Lloyd's sister-daughter said something in Dryjian, and though Wink didn't speak the language, she knew the word well.

"Murdered."

They began to walk up the shore, Lloyd in the lead and the others following, and when he reached view of the huge scaffolding, he muttered in a dangerous voice, 

"Not murder." He growled, eyes flashing. "Genocide."

Wink ran up beside him, looked over the island village, and spoke in a soft, gaspy voice.

"Oh god."

The landscape in front of Wink seemed like a flashback of the destroyed Deningrad, except for one difference.

In Deningrad, the people had not burned.

"Wingly magic killed all of them." Kianako said in disbelief, speaking in Dryjian. "Every damn single mother and child!"

"Fireballs?" Lloyd asked.

"Yeah. Son of a bitch."

"Was it Kyris then?"

"No, when he did it there was no – black, charredness. He used some stone of some sort." 

"Guys?" Lloyd looked over at Artewa at the sound of her voice. She was watching them anxiously. "Where's Wink?"

"What?" Lloyd and Kian turned to look at her, and then the knives of panic slowly began to poke through his skin and through his ribs, working up to his heart. He looked at his sister very slowly, then spoke in a dangerous voice, full dread. "Where is she?"

"She was behind Kianako, and then we all turned to look at the city, and now she's gone."

The words hadn't even finished before Lloyd rose in the air, scanning the air with ruby eyes full of open terror. He probed every part of the tropical land, hoping desperately to see the woman. There was nothing.

And then…

A fern swayed gently as a quiet figure with a complexion of ivory snuck through the forests, holding Wink against his chest roughly and casting about, trying to escape quietly. 

"Kyris's in the woods!" Lloyd shouted down before flying forward and diving down towards the capturer. His whole face twisted in a enraged snarl as he hit the canopy and landed, hitting the ground running.

Kyris whirled around and looked at him with a smirk, then plunged on through the rainforest, pulling the struggling Wink with him. Lloyd followed, pushing aside plants and slicing at foliage with his sword. He lunged at Kyris, missed, hit the ground, and leapt back to his feet. Kyris looked back and tripped over a root, but regained his step and kept running. 

Lloyd only just leapt aside as a small, unidentified missile flew from Kyris' skilled hand. The thing - a tiny, red-plumed dart – hit him above the collarbone and stuck. Lloyd scowled and pulled the thing out of the soft skin of his lower neck, grimacing as the barbs pulled at his flesh. 

He looked up, and Kyris was gone.

He sighed and began to pant as the hunters restless energy abandoned him, leaving only a glaring, hopeless individual. Anger shot through his head. He'd failed Wink. Now she was gone, left to Kyris's inventions.

Artewa and Kianako finally caught up, and looked curiously at Lloyd.

"Where is she?" Kian demanded.

Lloyd stared off a moment, then pointed, exhillerated by his discovery. Though covered by plantlife, the mouth of the cave had become visible when Kyris hastily ran through it, a single fern having fallen out of place. In fact, Lloyd had to admit, he'd nearly missed it. "Kyris took her in there."

"Well, let's go!"

"Me and Artewa will go. One of us has to go back and tell the others, in case something happens." Lloyd said.

Kianako seemed ready to protest, then saw the look in his companions eyes, and nodded. "Alright. Good luck."

He turned and, without another word, rose in the air and departed.

Artewa and Lloyd stood a moment, waiting for some unknown cue, then Lloyd suddenly brought up his blade and sliced into the plants covering the cavern. They fell easily.

"Lloyd, what if…"

"Shh. Let's go." Lloyd looked at Artewa, and she nodded knowingly.

Though no words were spoken, both brother and sister knew the message he'd tried to project. 

Artewa was a fighter, and Lloyd owed it to Lenus to never leave her behind again.

They slowly began into the cave. 

_A/N: God. Not only is the chapter late, but it's ridiculously small. Pitiful, Kikaiyu. Pitiful._


	14. Shadows

On Sapphire Wings

Chapter fourteen

We are spirits Passing through the doors of time With an invitation heard before we find 

_Shadows on the mountainside…_

Alone and angry, Kianako flew through the sunlit sky. His thoughts were venomous at being pushed around by both humans and winglies alike, and the more he flew, the more unhappy he got. Trying to block it out, he mentally went over what he would tell Dart.

Wink was captured, Lloyd and Artewa were going after her, Rouge was gone, and there was no sign of Haschel or Kongol. Also, the second genocide of Rouge Island was done with fire, not Kyris' magic.

A slow smile spread across Kian's face as he flew over Donau. A thought speared through his mind.

He was under no obligation to stay.

There was no one around to keep him from running.

Giving a small laugh, he landed. A while of living on the run, and he would be a free man. It appealed to him far more than risking his life for humans who didn't appreciate him.

He withdrew his wings, walked into the flower city, and began his new life of hiding.

The cave was dark and wet, but in a way, it seemed to go beyond it. It was a sort of black murkiness that clung to you like cobwebs, filling your mind with anxiety as you crept onwards with only cold, hard will on your side. It was a harsh reality, but Lloyd pushed on.

Lloyd and Artewa crept forward, looking desperately for any sign of Wink. There was nothing but heavy darkness, illuminated by the light from the two winglies wings. Somewhere deep in the cavernous recesses, something was clicking, though Lloyd couldn't be sure what. 

Reaching the other end of the huge cavern room, Lloyd and Artewa came to a long, narrow tunnel. It was only about as high as Lloyd's knee, and hardly much bigger across. The inside was completely dark.

"Think he went that way?"

"There's no where else to go."

"Okay then." Artewa looked into the thing. "I'll go first, and if everything's clear, I'll call you, okay?"

Lloyd hesitated, but realized that she would be safer with him at her back then to go in unprotected. Besides, the mortal part of him desperately wanted to postpone getting into the tunnel. "Okay."

"Don't look at my butt." She said with a smile, climbing in.

There was a long pause with only a slight shuffling sound to keep Lloyd company, then he heard her call back, "It's clear."

He sighed. Even before getting into the rocky pathway, the effects of clausterphobia were already eating away at his psyche. Clenching his teeth, he pulled himself into the tiny passageway.

Since he was a child, Lloyd had always had a fear of inclosed spaces, and this miniscule channel was perhaps the worst example of an inclosed space he'd ever encountered. Without even his wings for light, he was blind and trapped, only able to keep crawling forward. A tickling feeling creeped over his leg, and he started, but he still kept moving.

Finally, after an eternity in the diminutive little hellhole, he reached the end, a circle of somehow brighter darkness.

"Come out very slowly." Artewa hissed under her breath. "There's something here…"

Racing shadows.

The dark forms ran through a darker night, twisting, shouting in wordless voices, melting into one another and then reappearing somewhere else. 

There was a shout, and then dark.

Wink blinked as she stood standing in a huge, green field.

Approaching her, two shadows came forward from different sides of the field. They were faceless, icy, red eyed figures, and though they were separate forms, they seemed like two different entities of the same being. They stood a moment, looking past Wink and across at each other.

Long, indistinct blades of shadow were drawn, and then there was a moment where no one present could dare breathe.

Then the two faceless men ran forward towards Wink, shouting soundless threats and running on ethereal feet.

Two different shadow blades came towards her, and two different pairs of curvaceous eyes scorched into her, full of hate and empty of remorce.

She screamed.

And the blades passed through her.

She leapt aside as the two swords met, and the silvery sound at their meeting was the first to penetrate the field. She fell to the ground, and sat watching with eyes that wept unbidden. 

The two shadows fought, and through the air pulsed the feeling of raw, unearthed power. Neither warrior gave mercy, and neither wished it, fighting in a battle of kings that was watched only by the eyes of a girl they did not see.

One of the shadows struck out with the sword, but stumbled and was disarmed. He staggered backwards, took one quick, weak look at his competetor, and screamed as the blade pierced him through.

The scream was the only noise the shadows had ever made, and as the jagged sound cut its way through Wink's brain, she too began to scream.

And then, suddenly, she was awake.

Lloyd stood slowly, bringing his eyes very cautiously to focus on the air in front of him. Something was there, something was wrong, and he couldn't see it. He waited patiently, heart beating in his chest, and then he slowly mouthed the words, "Oh my god."

In front of them, the giant being gazed slowly around, searching sightlessly for any movement that would give away its prey. The scaled head twisted about slowly, and a forked tongue flickered out, twisted in the air, and disappeared again. A purposeful growl ementated from its dark maw slowly, sliding into the air like melted silver.

It appeared to be a mix between a serpant and a demon – huge, sinuous and deadly. It's heavily muscled arms were held up, ready to strike, and its huge claws seemed to slice through the wind, curved and dyed off-white with blood. It's enormous, powerful chest moved slowly in the dark as it breathed, and it's long neck moved about slowly as it's horned, serpentine head scanned the dark.

It's snout wrinkled in a snarl as it seemed unable to see its prey, but then the diamond-shaped eyes adopted a cunning appearance, and it's huge jaws turned up in a smirk. It raised a clawed hand meaningfully, brought it up to the wall of the cave behind its quarry, and pounded it.

Lloyd just barely had time to pull Artewa out of the way as a boulder fell to the ground and shattered into pieces of subterranean rock. The demon hissed with triumph, turned towards the source of the movement, and struck out.

_A/N: I've decided I'm gonna do shorter chapters now, because every time I sit down and try to write a nine page chapter, I always end up finding ways to be doing something else. And this way I'll be updating quicker! ^-^_

_Anyhoos, hope you liked and happy summer, all!_

_PS: Sorry about the bad format earlier, forgot to set it to web format __


	15. Get What You Pay For

_On Sapphire Wings_

Chapter 15

"Don't expect me to cry Don't expect me to lie Don't expect me to die for you…" 

Lloyd's lips parted in a muted sigh as the claws moved towards him. They moved with lightning speed, but seemed slowed somehow as he watched them move towards him. He tried to move, tried to run somehow, but his instincts failed him, and all he could do was watch as imminent agony sailed towards him, moving like silvery liquid towards his helpless form.

The feeling was wet and blunted. The pain streaked through him like a cold breeze. Blood splattered up and drenched his face, sticking his bangs to his face and filling his mouth with the salty, metallic taste.

He doubled over and hit the dirty earth hard. He could see the blood running in a small stream away from him, staining the shadowy dirt with crimson liquid. 

He looked up weakly. Artewa was there, and she was screaming, but no sound seemed to be coming from her mouth. It wasn't like absolute quiet, nor like she was failing to speak, it was more like the noise of her voice was muffled by the sound of a strange, loud silence that had submerged Lloyd. He blinked, blinked twice, and suddenly the sound was back.

But it was faraway. Distant.

It wasn't until later that Lloyd realized the demon had poisoned claws, and at that moment, there was only a fluffy kind of confusion all around him. At first he fought to hear and think straight, but suddenly, he didn't want to. He just wanted to sleep.

The darkness looked very inviting. His consciousness reached out to it, and it pulled him into its embrace.

Dart watched as Rose looked at the sky. God, how many times had she simply stood there, watching the heavens, with a million thoughts flashing in front of her eyes? Even in this different body, the look in her eyes was so familiar that Dart nearly forgot about all that had happened lately.

She was planning, and Dart respected her judgement, so he waited. Finally, she said, "We should patrol around."

At first, the words were so sudden that their meaning escaped him.

"What?"

She smiled humourlessly. "If the attacks were on Rouge, that means that Kyris isn't just going after large cities. He wants _us,_ probably because he knows we're a threat. I suggest that we go somewhere out of the way, perhaps to the Valley of Corrupted Gravity." She looked up again, silent a moment, then nodded. "Actually, the valley's high magical field may mess up his offensive spells. It would be a good place to track him down and remove him."

Dart nodded. "Yeah, the sooner we deal with him, the better."

"We should go to Donau, get some supplies, then get as far from humanity as we can."

They spent that night in the canyon, and woke up sore and uncomfortable. However, with hardly a complaint they packed up and began walking for Donau.

By noon they reached the flower city.

It had been a long time since Dart had last seen the city. Once they'd removed the bandits from it, they'd had to move on, and Dart had never had a chance to really relax and enjoy the cities pleasures. But looking upon it now, he realized that it was a place of most peoples fantasies. He knew he should be worried, but he couldn't help feeling peaceful.

The blossoms off the trees were just beginning to fall off, and they flew through the sky on a soft, warm wind as Dart stepped through a ivy-garbed arch into the little town. Birds called through the trees and insects flitted around, busy in their own little worlds.

"Beautiful." Rose muttered absently.

Albert nodded. "This has always been one of my more preferred towns. I've never really taken much time here since we removed the bandits."

Dart nodded, and they were silent a second, then he grinned.

"I'm sure we have enough time to _relax _awhile." He inclined his head towards the bar.

Albert groaned, but he was smiling.

"I think we could manage that – strictly to converse with the people of my kingdom, of course."

Meru grinned, and ran to the bar. "Last one there's a sober-head!"

It was a surprisingly full place, mostly because it was nearly dinner time and the bar was notorious for good meals. And alcohol.

Almost thirty people, mostly worn old travelers, were gathered in the center, and there appeared to be something happening. Dart raised an eyebrow and peered through the crowd. Someone was talking quite loudly, and the assembled audience was laughing. The voice was familiar.

The red dragoon gritted his teeth and began to push people aside. He heard Albert shout something at him, but he ignored it. He reached the center of the crowd, and his fear was confirmed.

Kianako was sprawled over a chair, grinning and talking merrily with a pint of alcohol in his hands. The look on his face was so careless and drunkenly happy and Dart rushed him and tackled him to the floor, pinning him down by his neck.

There was a moment of stillness.

Then everybody was moving. The bar patrons were either trying to rush forward to help the wingly, or get away. Dart's companions were fighting in the crowd. Under Dart's strength and weight, Kian was squirming like an injured animal.

Dart braced his grip and shouted, "Where's Wink?"

"I…ahhh…"

_"Where?"_

"She…" Kian coughed, a liquid sound. "At Rouge…Lloyd…getoffme…" 

"Dart!" Albert barked from behind Dart's ear. "Let him talk."

Dart gave his best glare, and loosened his grip slightly.

"I cannot, uuuuum, understand..?"

They paused, and then Albert shouted.

"Meru get up here!"

She obliged, running up and crouching beside him. Over her pale face of permenant lightheartedness, her red eyes were glowing with a dark red anger that spoke words.

"How'd you find me?" Kianako asked softly. His voice was halfway mocking and halfway afraid.

Meru wanted to change that statistic. She smacked him across the face hard enough to draw blood, and snarled, "None of your business, you bastard! Where are they?"

"Uuuuum. Will you let me go?"

She laughed, and leaned forward over his pinned form. Looking deep into his eyes with a dark, amused look, she said, "Spew it or I'll kill you!"

"I…"

"SPILL IT!"

He reconsidered.

"…Rouge was blown. They killed every goddamn person there."

"Who did?"

"Don't know. They used fire."

Meru paused a moment. Then, understanding his meaning, asked, "Not…"

"No, it was fire. Nothing else. We were gonna investigate it, but Kyris got Wink, and Lloyd and Artewa went after him."

"And you left them there?"

"They told me to find you!"

"Sure they did." She sniffed. "So where are they now?"

"In Rouge! In a cave somewheres."

"Shit. Haschel and Kongol?"

"Never found them."

"Shit shit shit."

"Don't let these freakin guys hurt me."

Meru looked at him, and a bolt of anger shot through her. She wanted to murder him, helpless on the floor. Instead, she said. "I'm not making you a goddamn promise, you freakin deserter. Just pray to God that we're feeling generous tomorrow."

***

A/N: HURRAY! Finished! **dances** Finished Finished Finished Finished Finished Finished Finished Finished Finished Finished Finished!

_Can't believe I finally got that done. God, that was the hardest chapter to do and I don't know why. Oh well. I think it's a let-down, but you be the judge._

_FINISHED!_


End file.
